This is a national statutory survey developed by the Care Quality Commission and the Department of Health and Social Care, and every Local Authority in England with social care responsibilities must take part.

The survey helps us understand:

• the quality of life of people who use our services
• the impact our support has on their health and wellbeing

Coventry City Council will be sending 3,000 anonymous postal questionnaires between January and March 2026 to a sample of people who use our services. Responses are confidential and will not affect the support or services people receive.

Completing the survey is important because it helps us improve services for the people of Coventry.

It’s easy to link Council Tax to visible services like waste collection or road repairs. In fact, the money is spread much more widely, supporting residents in many ways. Every pound of Council Tax supports local services people rely on.

Here’s how every pound of Council Tax is shared out, whatever the size of your bill.

• 38p for adult social care – helping older residents and people with disabilities live safely and with dignity, often in their own homes.
• 31p for children’s services – protecting children, supporting families and giving young people the best start in life.
• 12p for city services – repairing potholes, collecting bins and keeping our streets and green spaces clean.
• 8p on education and skills – providing opportunities to learn new skills, libraries to visit and help with securing a job.
• 7p on housing and communities – promoting arts and culture in the city and helping the most vulnerable into safe and secure homes.
• 4p on policing and equalities – keeping you and your families safe.

Some services are easy to see, like bins on the kerbside or improvements to high streets and public spaces. Others happen in the background but are no less important. Council Tax helps support both. The Council is there when people face life’s toughest challenges:

• for one resident, adult social care funding means a daily visit from a carer so they can continue living at home
• for someone who has lost their job, housing support can prevent homelessness and provide advice on finding somewhere stable to live
• for children at risk, specialist teams provide protection and support when it’s needed most

Your Council Tax also contributes to services that many residents rarely see but almost everyone benefits from. The Council delivers hundreds of services that impact on the lives of Coventry’s residents, visitors and businesses.

Services like food safety inspections carried out by environmental health officers make sure restaurants and takeaways meet hygiene standards. Or the work of registrars, who conduct thousands of appointments each year to record births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships.

Teams tackling issues such as pest control, preventing infestations from becoming a wider public health issue, and trading standards, keeping counterfeit and unsafe products out of local shops, may not always be visible, but they are no less vital to daily life in the city. These are just a handful of the hundreds of services that keep the city running and support people at every stage of life.

For more information on Council Tax and how Coventry City Council is working for you, visit: Working for you – Coventry City Council.

Grief comes in many different ways, from the death of a loved one to changes in your circumstances. In these sessions Dr Liz Sparkes will guide you using compassion and meditation, to support you to move through periods of grief, loss and change. 

Dates and times:

• Wednesday 4, 11 & 25 February
• Wednesday 4 & 11 March
• all sessions 10am to 11:30am

Location:

• Warwick Road Church Centre, 10 Warwick Row, Coventry CV1 1EX

For more information please email the team, or give them a call on 02476 632972 option 1. You can also find further information from the Carers Trust.

Join us at the Carers Trust Spring Expo - a welcoming event celebrating and supporting carers. Discover information and advice from local organisations, explore interactive stalls and take part in fun activities! 

For more information please email the team, or give them a call on 02476 632972 option 1. You can also find further information on their website.

What's on offer?

A relaxed and welcoming event for veterans, their families and friends. Join us for tea, coffee, breakfast and friendly conversation. 

You can participate in walking rugby, walking netball and a walk around the pitch.

Event details:

Wednesday 11 February from 10am to midday at Coventry Rugby Club, Butts Park Arena, Coventry, CV1 3GE

For further information please email the team. 

Are you a carer supporting someone with a diagnosis of dementia or concerned about someone’s memory?

The key benefits of the information sessions are:

• enabling carers to have increased knowledge of dementia
• providing carers with practical information that they can use in coping with living with dementia day-to-day
• help carers to feel better informed and less isolated
• empowering carers to access support services and financial benefits and entitlements
• enabling carers to plan with and for the person they care for, now and in the future

We will be delivering the Carer Information Sessions at the St Barbara's Church, 22 Rochester Road, Coventry CV5 6AG (Car park at rear).

Refreshments included.

Please contact your local office for more information and/or to book a place call 024 7665 2602 or send them an email. 

These information sessions are for carers.

Do you care for someone with dementia?

Our peer support group offers a safe place to talk about how dementia affects your life. You will also receive helpful information to take away with you.

All sessions take place at: St. Barbara's Church Hall, 22 Rochester Road, Coventry CV5 6AG (car park at the rear)

Please contact your local office before attending. Contact 024 7665 2602 or email for more information.

Do you care for someone who has moved in to a care home, or could this be a possibility in the near future? 

Join our friendly peer support group to meet others in your situation, no matter which home your loved one resides in.

They take place every other month on the first Wednesday from 1:30pm to 3pm at Victoria Mews Care Home, Coventry CV3 2DF

Our next meeting takes place on Wednesday 4 February 2026.

For more information please email the team, or give them a call on 02476 632972 option 1. You can also find further information on their website.

If your loved one is staying in hospital, support for you in your caring role is available. You may be entitled to a carer's ID card that can identify you as a carer, provide you with a point of contact and support for the following:

• open visiting times especially to support during mealtimes
• a bed to support you overnight
• access to drinks at the beverage bay or from the hostess trolley
• free meal voucher
• free parking if you have a blue badge or are staying with a child

To request a UHCW carer's ID card, please speak with a Carers' Trust Hospital Liaison Advisor or a member of the ward or department team.

To find out more about caring for a loved one in hospital please visit UHCW’s webpage.

As a carer it's vitally important that you are involved in decisions concerning the person you care for. 

When extra help is needed, medical professionals such as hospital staff and nurses may be called in to offer support.

We can help support you through this process, meaning you're able to communicate effectively with professionals, and understand exactly what to expect upon the person you care for being discharged from hospital. 

If you would like to speak to a Wellbeing Advisor about hospital carer support, please come along to one of our weekly drop-in sessions on either Tuesday afternoon or Thursday morning in the PALS office located in UHCW main reception.

Alternatively please email the team. 

Do you care for someone that couldn't manage without your support?

Connect with our wellbeing advisors for advice, information and support - for patients, visitors, staff and volunteers. "You care for them, we care for you".

Next meeting takes place on Monday 9 February from 5pm to 6:30pm, Ward 40 Forget-Me-Not Lounge, University Hospital, CV2 2DX.

We are also running a drop in on Monday 9 March from 5pm to 6:30pm, Ward 40 Forget-Me-Not Lounge, University Hospital, CV2 2DX. We look forward to meeting you!

Carers' Trust Heart of England are inviting you to attend their walking group being held on Wednesday 18 February from 12pm to 1pm at Coventry Canal Basin.

Meeting point: Playwrights Café, Coventry Canal Basin, St Nicholas Street, Coventry CV1 4LY. 

Stay active, enjoy a gentle stroll and meet new friends at our friendly walking group.

For more information please email the team or give them a call on 02476 632972, selecting option 1.

Back and Forth Men's Mental Health organisation have joined with the Coventry Dementia Partnership Hub to deliver monthly Men's drop-ins.

These sessions will start on Tuesday 10 February at 10am at Coventry Dementia Partnership Hub, Everdon Road, Coventry CV6 4DT.

The sessions are free and friendly so just show up. For more information please take a look at their website. 

For parents and carers of children and young people with additional or specific needs or disabilities.

Coventry Parent Carer Forum and Entrust Care Partnership are delighted to be hosting this free online training event. This session will be relaxed and informative with time for participants’ questions.

Join us on Friday 27 February 2026 from 10am to midday.

Ann Huc, an experienced Occupational Therapist from Links Therapy will give you:

• an understanding of sensory processing and how it can affect all areas of life
• a greater understanding of how to spot when your child is having difficulties coping with their sensory world
• practical strategies for helping to develop a sensory rich environment or help your child feel better about their environment

To register an interest, have a chat or for more information please contact Lynne Barton by email or dropping her a call on 07712 326 273.

The Coping with Caring course aims to raise awareness and understanding of how the caring role can impact on many aspects of your life. The course looks at ways you can look after yourself as well as continuing to support and promote the independence of the person you care for.

Learning outcomes:

• to increase awareness of the roles and responsibilities of being a Carer in the UK and to look at how these roles affect us
• to consider and develop some techniques for coping and helping ourselves as well as those we care for
• to look at your rights as a Carer and places to seek additional support  

Aimed at:

Anyone who is currently caring for a friend or family member and is experiencing increased stress.

Course tutors:

Staff from Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust and Heart of England Carers Trust.

When:

Thursday 5 March 2026 from 1pm to 3pm online.

Course duration:

2 hour session.

Open to everyone! 

Central Library's 40th Birthday Celebrations are taking place on Saturday 7 February from 10am until 4pm. Come and join us for Music, Games, Dance and Story Time.

A magical library milestone, bringing our vibrant community together in celebration. 

For further information please call 024 7683 2314 

Don't miss this return visit to Coventry by Weeping Bank - the acclaimed ghost story experience, bridging the gap between page and stage.

'Pock' Tuesday 17 March 2026 - Tile Hill Library, 7pm

Thursday 26 March 2026 - Central Library, 7.15pm

Book now - tickets are £6.

This is storytelling as it once was - eerie, immersive and dangerously close.

'A masterclass in the art of the modern ghost story' Bronte Schiltz, writer/journalist & televisual Gothic expert

'The Librarian’s performance is masterful' Steve Kinrade, Liverpool Noise

To learn more about The Librarian, his dark tales and the village of #WeepingBank, visit Weeping Bank.  

Families across Coventry are being given help and support at the time they need it most through a pioneering new Council scheme.

Coventry Funeral Service was launched last year as an alternative service provider for Coventry residents.

It aims to help more people cope with the costs of funerals and ceremonies for loved ones and ease some of the stress and anguish at such a difficult time.

With many facing financial hardship and the rising costs of funerals, the service has already helped many people across the city who would otherwise have struggled to say a fitting goodbye to family members.

The skilled staff are there to offer all the advice and guidance needed when arranging a traditional funeral or direct cremation, including practical help with Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) processes.

The service offers:

• fully inclusive funeral packages with clear pricing, no hidden costs and options suitable for DWP funeral support
• an experienced, compassionate team with many years of experience in caring for bereaved families within the local community, who can guide people through funeral arrangements and DWP paperwork
• traditional values, dignity and care at every step

To learn more, visit Coventry Funeral Service.

Do you need support with an NHS complaint?

Then Independent Health Complaint Advocacy Service is for you.   

They can help guide you through the complaints process, offering different forms of support including: 

• understanding what it is that has happened 
• identifying what you want to achieve by complaining 
• discussing your options with you 
• helping you with the actual complaints process 
• in certain circumstances, we can submit a complaint on your behalf 

Find out more about the support on offer and if you would like to be contacted by the service please email them or call 0300 561 0770.

We are looking to recruit more Community Outreach Volunteers. These volunteers have an extremely important role of listening to local people about their experiences of Health and care services.  

We want to reach those voices who find it difficult to communicate with us due to language barriers. Could you help us break that barrier? Could you help translate for them? 

Join our outreach volunteers' team and let's make a difference 

For more information please contact us by email.