Agenda item

The Chair welcomed Mr Steve Laird, from V4 who delivered a presentation in respect of management options for Leisure and Cultural Services (Appendix 1).  During the delivery of this presentation the following points were highlighted for Members’ consideration:

·             V4 had been asked to investigate the advantages and disadvantages in respect of a range of models that could be used for the delivery of Leisure and Cultural Services.

·             As part of this process V4 had considered the need for any future delivery model to support the Council’s strategic purposes.

·             The strategic purposes had underpinned a range of criteria that had been used to assess each option in turn.

·             The option that had scored the most for Redditch Borough Council had been the Local authority Trading Company (LATC) model followed by outsourcing.

·             There was no correct answer in terms of the model that should be used by local authorities.  The choice needed to be made through the democratic process based on local needs and priorities.

·             In recent weeks there had been some developments in respect of changes to rules for VAT.  Previously Councils could only keep a portion of a fee where VAT rules applied; recent case law had established that Councils could now retain the full fee.

·             Partial exemption calculations needed to be taken into account.  Where local authorities had exempt income, such as for Bereavement Services, the organisation could only claim up to £267,000 of VAT.  There was a risk that if more than this figure was gathered the Council would not be able to retain any of that sum.

·             Depending on the model selected by Members during the meeting a more detailed business case would follow in 2018.

Following presentation of the report Members discussed the matter in further detail and raised a number of points:

·             The significant number of responses that had been received from the public in respect of the future delivery of leisure and cultural services.  Many residents had commented that they did not feel able to select the most appropriate model, but they were keen for the Council to retain some involvement, to have access to affordable services and for services to help address health inequalities.

·             The extent to which the different models would be able to support people living in areas of multiple deprivation and which areas fell within this in the Borough.  A number of areas, identified by the Office for National Statistics, were discussed, and it was suggested these areas should be clarified.

·             The level of consultation that had been held with the unions to date in respect of the review.  Officers advised that the unions had been provided with copies of the report.  Whichever model was selected would be subject to consultation with staff and the unions would be fully engaged in this process.

During consideration of this item reference was also made to the relevant minute extract from the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 26^th October 2017 when this matter had been considered.  Members noted that the Committee had recommended that the Council should give approval in principle to the LATC model to operate the Council’s Leisure and Cultural Services.

At the end of their discussions the Committee

RECOMMENDED that

approval be given, in principle, to set up a not for profit, Teckal compliant, Local Authority trading company to operate the Council’s Leisure and Cultural Services and that a further report to Executive and Council be commissioned by officers in relation to a full business case for this model to include all governance, financial and staffing implications.

[During consideration of this item Members discussed matters that necessitated the disclosure of exempt information. It was therefore agreed to exclude the press and public during the course of the debate on the grounds that information would be revealed which relates to the financial and business affairs of the local authority].