Issue - meetings

To consider an update on the options for the future of REDI Centre.

(In view of the fact that they contain information relating to the financial affairs of other person(s), including the authority holding that information and consultation in connection with a labour relation matter, Appendices 1 and 1a are not for publication and have been circulated only to relevant Officers and Members of the Council.)

(Report attached)

RESOLVED that

1)         the extension of the existing Learndirect contract only to August 2011 be noted and that Officers appraise Members at the earliest opportunity of the sustainability of the contract beyond this point; and

RECOMMENDED that

2)         Option 4 as set out within the report (relocation of the Learndirect activity to another Council facility) be approved, subject to this being endorsed by Learndirect and that Officers be instructed to liaise with Learndirect as to validation and inspection arrangements; and

3)         the costs of proceeding with Option 4 (£90,000) be approved, these costs to be met from revenue balances.

The Committee received a presentation and report detailing the options that were being put forward for consideration for the future provision of service at the REDI Centre. The options included a retention of the current service, complete closure of the service and two models for partial service retention. It was noted that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had recommended that the service be retained in its current form.

An impassioned discussion ensued, with Members speaking in generous terms of the quality of the staff at the Centre and the service they had provided over the years. It was noted that the management of the Centre had been inadequate in recent times and that the service had repeatedly come before Members as a potential budget saving for a number of years, adding to the sense of instability. The predominant argument put forward was that the Council was in an increasingly difficult financial position and that, with the withdrawal of funding for adult education, grant funding for the Centre was rapidly diminishing. It was proposed that the Council could no longer expect the Council Tax payers of the Borough to fund a service which was entirely discretionary and that the money might be more equitably spent to the benefit of a greater number of people.

RESOLVED that

1)         the extension of the existing Learndirect contract only to August 2011 be noted and that Officers appraise Members at the earliest opportunity of the sustainability of the contract beyond this point; and

RECOMMENDED that

2)         Option 4 as set out within the report (relocation of the Learndirect activity to another Council facility) be approved, subject to this being endorsed by Learndirect and that Officers be instructed to liaise with Learndirect as to validation and inspection arrangements; and

3)         the costs of proceeding with Option 4 (£90,000) be approved, these costs to be met from revenue balances.