Agenda item
Tetbury and Fairford Leisure Provision Task and Finish Group - Final Report
Minutes:
Councillor Gary Selwyn, Chair of the Task and Finish Group introduced the report. He gave thanks to the Members of the group, Councillors Dilys Neill and Gina Blomefield, together with Officers who supported the group, with their experience and expertise, who were the Group Manager, Strategic Support, Chief Accountant and Democratic Services.
The group approached this task with an open mind starting with a desktop review of all the papers available to the group. Interviewees contributed to the debate and the group paused regularly to discuss feedback and agree the next steps in the process.
Nearly a decade has passed since the decisions were taken, some interviewees had very clear memories, others far less, and not everyone was available. Councillor Selwyn was very confident that the report presented to the Committee gave an informative record and clear objectives on lessons which may be learnt. He noted that the Cabinet had commissioned a Leisure Strategy, and the findings of the report could be taken into account in the final strategy.
Councillor Selwyn also explained the different sections of the report, giving the background to the review, that this was not a formal investigation, it was an informal group approach to highlight key issues, concerns expressed with the leisure provision in Tetbury and Fairford, and lessons learnt from the review to be recommended to Cabinet.
Comments from Members and answers from the Task and Finish Group were as follows:
(a)
Reference was made to the council receiving the
accounts and reports from the centres.
The group had reviewed all the reports and accounts available to
them.
(b)
The group also considered whether the strict and
proper guidelines were followed when the contract was awarded to
the schools, Members questioned whether a new set of guidelines were
necessary.
(c)
Schools were not primarily set up to provide leisure
facilities, they were to teach children and the safeguarding issues
at the schools were paramount.
Safeguarding was not something that the group specifically
considered, although this was a valid consideration in the
provision of leisure facilities on school sites.
(d)
It was noted that the schools in Tetbury and Fairford
did not have swimming pools at the time when they took over the
facilities, which would have been a big attraction for
people.
(e)
The group did consider the issue of whether when the
schools took over the facilities, was it
realistic that they would have
been able to achieve success as a leisure
operator, without public subsidy, if the Council was unable to make
a success of these sites.
(f) It was noted that the Cotswold School in Chipping Campden did pull out at an early stage of these negotiations and the pool and the gym at the school were run by two different organisations.
It was proposed that the key lessons set out below be recommended to Cabinet. This was proposed by Councillor Andrews and seconded by Councillor Selwyn.
RESOLVED that the findings of the Task and Finish Group, set out below, be recommended to Cabinet:
(i)
Clear service requirements and desired
outcomes need to guide all procurement and service delivery
decisions, so that there is a robust process to evaluate quality,
viability, social value and community impact, in addition to
financial cost.
(ii)
Strategic needs analysis should be used
to bring objectivity to good commissioning decision making, so that
the desired outcomes are delivered sustainably.
(iii)
The robustness of cost : quality
assessments brought to formal procurement evaluations should apply
equally to other commissioning routes, so that risks, quality,
viability and efficiencies are all considered as part of the due
diligence process.
(iv)
Reports to Members should explicitly
frame alternative options and the associated risks, costs and
benefits so that a clearer understanding between cost and social
value informs their decisions.
(v)
Any significant proposed changes to
service provision (or policy decisions) should be subject to an
impact assessment, so that any potentially positive or negative
impacts are understood, as well as presenting an opportunity to
better involve stakeholders in our decision making
process.
(vi) Formal monitoring of relevant grant agreements should be undertaken in conjunction with finance, so that any concerns over financial viability of a service can be identified at the earliest opportunity.
Record of Voting – for 9, against 0, abstention 0, absent 1.
Supporting documents:
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