Issue - meetings

Leisure and Cultural Services Business Case

Members noted a number of matters during a lengthy debate in respect of the Leisure and Cultural Services Business Case, including the following:

·                The Options Appraisal, considered at a previous Council meeting, which had led to Members selecting a Local Authority Trading Company (LATC) as the preferred model of service delivery.

·                The feedback that had been received from residents in relation to the different options for service delivery, which had highlighted a desire for services to meet the needs of the community and for there to continue to be some Council involvement.

·                The recommendations on this subject that had been proposed at a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 5^th March.  It was confirmed that the Executive Committee had deferred making a decision on these recommendations, so these needed to be determined by Council.

·                On the one hand some Members raised concerns that the recommendations from Overview and Scrutiny, particularly in relation to the Shareholders Committee, were premature and would be more suitable for discussion alongside the detailed business plan in July 2018.

·                On the other hand other Members suggested that the recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would enhance the Council’s authority over the LATC and ensure that this operated in line with good business practices.

·                The previous work undertaken by the Provision of Leisure Services Short Sharp Review in 2015, which had concluded that provision of services by a Trust, would be the most appropriate service delivery model for the Council moving forward.

·                The leisure centres in other parts of the country that had been visited by the scrutiny group.

·                The work that had subsequently been undertaken by relevant officers and the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism, which had included visiting further leisure centres across the country.

·                The model of service delivery for Leisure and Cultural Services that had been adopted by neighbouring authorities in Worcestershire.

·                The relatively recent change to rules in respect of TECKAL companies.

Council Housing Allocations Policy 2018 Update

Following the Executive Committee meeting held on 6^th March 2018 Officers had, at the request of Members, undertaken some research in respect of the potential implications of the policy for kinship carers.  Based on this research Officers had concluded that it would be appropriate to include reference to kinship carers in the policy and they were therefore proposing an additional amendment to paragraph 32 of the policy.  The proposed additional amendment to the policy was tabled for Members’ consideration at the meeting and this amendment was as detailed in the box below:

There was general consensus amongst Members that this amendment to include reference  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89