Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received on behalf of Councillor Jen Snape.

Members were informed that Councillor Matthew Dormer had been invited to attend the meeting as a leader of a political group, in line with the terms of reference for the Committee.  Councillor Dormer had advised that he was hoping to attend the meeting but he would be late as he was due to attend another Committee meeting the same evening.  In the event, that meeting had not finished by the time that the Shareholders Committee meeting concluded and therefore he was unable to attend.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Shareholders Committee held on 22^nd August 2024 be approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chair.

“That, under S.100 (A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following matter(s) on the grounds that it/they involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant paragraphs (to be specified) of Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) of the said Act”.

These paragraphs are as follows:

Subject to the “public interest” test, information relating to:

·         Para 1 – any individual;

·         Para 2 – the identity of any individual;

·         Para 3 – financial or business affairs;

·         Para 4 – labour relations matters;

·         Para 5 – legal professional privilege;

·         Para 6 –  a notice, order or direction;

·         Para 7 – the prevention, investigation or

                     prosecution of crime;

                     and may need to be considered as ‘exempt’.

RESOLVED that:

Under S100 A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following matters on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 of the said act, as amended.

Minute Item No 11 – Budget Monitoring Report

Minute Item No. 12 – Quarter 2 Performance Monitoring Report 2024/25

The Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer presented a Budget Monitoring Report for the consideration of the Committee.

The report followed the Executive Committee’s recent consideration of the Medium Term Financial Plan Tranche 1 report 2025/26 to 2027/28, which had included information regarding requests for capital funding that had been received from Rubicon Leisure Limited.  This funding would be used for the following reasons:

·             To upgrade the changing room and toilet facilities at the Abbey Stadium.

·             For a new outdoor kiosk and toilet facilities at Forge Mill Needle Museum.

·             To refurbish the changing facilities and second green at Pitcheroak Golf course.

Additional capital funding would also be helpful to enable upgrading of the roof at the Abbey Stadium and to improve the kitchen facilities at the Arrow Valley Countryside Centre.

Progress had been made, since the previous meeting of the Committee, with preparation and submission of the company’s accounts.  This followed progress with the preparation and submission of the Council’s accounts for three separate financial years from 2020/21 onwards.  The company was on track to submit their accounts to Companies House by the deadline at the end of the calendar year.  The Council’s accounts were likely to receive a disclaimer opinion from the authority’s external auditors and the company’s external auditors would be notified of this situation accordingly.

Members were asked to note that Rubicon Leisure Limited would need to cover significant costs arising in relation to VAT.  However, the Council had previously anticipated this cost and had set aside a reserve of £800,000 to try to cover these costs.  Whilst the final figure remained to be confirmed on the date of the meeting, it was anticipated that the figure would be much lower than this reserve.

The Committee was advised that since the previous meeting, the Government had confirmed that the Council had been unsuccessful in its bid for Levelling Up Cultural Grant funding.  This would have implications for Rubicon Leisure Limited, as it had been one of the organisations that might have benefitted from this funding.  However, there was a Government consultation being undertaken on future culture grant funding and the Council needed to submit a response to this by the deadline of 13^th December 2024. 

Following the presentation of the report, Members discussed a number of points in detail:

·             Progress that had been achieved by the Council in respect of responding to the Government’s consultation on culture funding.  An update was requested for the consideration of Members in respect of this matter.

·             The Levelling Up funding for culture that had been withdrawn by the Government and the fact that the Council had not allocated this funding to any particular initiatives before the withdrawal was announced.  Officers were asked to ensure that this situation was clarified in Council communications moving forward.

·             The figures that had been included in the report in respect of capital funding requested to support Council assets operated by Rubicon Leisure Limited and the basis for these figures.  The Committee was informed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The Managing Director of Rubicon Leisure Limited presented the Quarter 2 Performance Monitoring Report for the 2024/25 financial year.

The Committee was advised that services were performing well.  Many venues managed by Rubicon Leisure Limited were benefiting from the enhanced food and beverage offer that was now available to customers.  This included a positive impact from the introduction of a food and beverage offer at Forge Mill Needle Museum.

The services and activities available to the local community that were provided by Rubicon Leisure Limited had increased.  Communications in respect of this offer had also been enhanced, with improvements having been made to the content of the company’s website.

After the report had been presented, Members discussed the following points in detail:

·             The positive impact of the approach that had been adopted to managing the company on the performance of Rubicon Leisure Limited.  Members were asked to note that this was due to a team effort by all staff.

·             The need for the Committee’s thanks to be communicated to staff employed by Rubicon Leisure Limited for their hard work.

·             The valuable contribution that was made by volunteers, particularly at the Palace Theatre and Forge Mill Needle Museum.

·             The potential for a recognition night dedicated to these volunteers to be held to provide an opportunity for thanks to be communicated to the volunteers.

·             The volunteer handbook that was being developed by Rubicon Leisure Limited to help volunteers make the most of their time volunteering with the company.

·             The constructive impact that participation in sporting and leisure activities could have on people’s health.  Members commented that the NHS could benefit from the activities and services provided by Rubicon Leisure Limited as these had a positive preventative impact.

·             The 13 different health interventions that were delivered at the Abbey Stadium.

·             The difficulties in terms of clarifying the financial performance of the company due to the challenges that had been created by problems with the Tech1 finance system.  Members noted that the report could only currently include information in relation to income as a consequence of these issues.

·             The main financial costs that needed to be covered by the company, which included staffing and utilities.

·             The main sources of income in the Leisure industry nationally.  Officers clarified that sporting activities tended to attract income whilst cultural services tended to be delivered at cost.  The facilities managed by Rubicon Leisure Limited reflected these national trends.

·             The reduction in the level of subsidy that the company required from the Council compared to previous years.  Members were advised that this was approximately £500,000 per year by the date of the meeting.

·             The extent to which it was unusual for there to be so many leisure and cultural assets in a Borough equivalent to the size of Redditch.

RESOLVED that

the report be noted.

(During consideration of this item, Members discussed matters that necessitated the disclosure of exempt information. It was therefore agreed to move to exclude the press and public prior to any debate on the grounds  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.