Agenda item

The Task Group will receive a presentation on the Council’s Leisure Contract by the Head of Early Intervention, Louise Elo and the Support and the Health and Wellbeing Manager, Angela Barrago.

Members of the Task Group received a presentation by the Head of Early Intervention and Support and the Health and Wellbeing Manager which provided background information on the Council’s, 15 year, leisure contract which was due to expire 31 March 2020.

The Council owns three leisure facilities –

·         All Seasons Leisure Centre

·         Brinscall Swimming Baths

·         Clayton Green Leisure Centre

The Council’s Leisure Contract

Overall, the present contract was worth £4,445,000, and was awarded to Active Nation in 2005.  The cost of the contract was being paid by instalments as a monthly management fee.  The contract between the Council and Active Nation is complex and stipulates in detail how the leisure facilities would be managed including both parties responsibilities in regards to maintenance.

In preparation for the expiration of the contract in 2020, the contract with Active Nation was due to be officially reviewed in 2018.  While under review, a clause in the contract could be triggered if it was decided that the Council wished to terminate the contract earlier than 2020.

As part of the review process an external consultant was due to be commissioned in July 2017, to evaluate other national models of council leisure centre provision and management and explore new, alternative models of utilising the Council’s assets with partners, to maximise access to activity for those most in need and to support the delivery of the authority’s ambitions as set out in the Early Intervention and Support Strategy.

Challenges and Options

The current contract arrangements presented a number of challenges which included –

·         Negotiating items for replacement or repair via the asset maintenance schedule was time consuming as the responsibility for replacement of assets was with the Council, while repair of assets was Active Nations responsibility.

·         Managing a contract that was outsourced to a third party increased demand on Council officers as it slowed down decision making and did not allow for enough joined up working.

As the leisure contract was coming to an end, the Council had the opportunity to consider how it managed its leisure assets going forward (ie could be brought back in-house) and whether to adopt the health and wellbeing centre model, by utilising integration with heath partners; this model was emerging as a successful model nationally.

The Task Group was advised that the option to bring the provision back in-house and design a new model provided the greatest potential for opportunity and new ways of working.  However, this option required full investigation for financial suitability. This investigation would be undertaken by the appointment of an external agency who would be asked to review the options and operating models needs to ensure all possibilities had been explored.

It was expected that the external agency would complete its review September/October at which point it will present its findings to the Council.

Debate and Conclusion

The Task Group discussed various aspects of the presentation and current leisure provision which included –

·         Current performance figures available

·         Identifying the number of users who live outside the borough

·         The length of time spent by users on any one occasion

·         The number of leisure personnel on duty

·         Restrictions to equipment at peak times

·         Activities available

·         Equality implications

·         Personnel implications

·         Linking in with the Chorley Youth Zone

In conclusion it was AGREED –

1.    Representatives from Active Nation be invited to attend the next meeting to give their opinion on the success of the current arrangements.

2.      A representative from Lancashire Care Foundation Trust be invited to attend the next meeting to give their view as to what health and wellbeing initiatives could be incorporates as part of the Council’s leisure model.