Agenda item

The Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Resources presented the Leisure Services Business Plan for Members’ consideration. 

The Committee was advised that the business plan provided further detail about the arrangements for the Local Authority Trading Company (LATC) that would be established to provide a number of leisure services on behalf of the Council.  The same services had been included in the business plan, as they had in March, with the exception of the allotments service, and the Council wanted the company to operate on a not-for-profit basis.  A number of new activities, to be provided at locations such as Forge Mill Needle Museum, had been identified and included within the Business Plan which were designed to attract more customers and to enhance services.  The company would be expected to maintain an effective working relationship with the Council and a suite of strategic measures had been developed to enable the authority to monitor performance.

The Council had already placed an advert in the national press inviting people to apply to become the Managing Director of the company.  Formal consultation with existing staff affected by TUPE arrangements was due to begin on 24^th October 2018, though the Council would aim to start informal engagement in respect of this matter at an earlier stage.  Relevant staff would subsequently be transferred to the company in December.

Members were advised that the Council was considering naming the company Forge Leisure.  There were some legal implications in relation to naming the organisation and therefore Officers were keen to alter one of the proposals in the report to provide the Head of Leisure and Cultural Services, Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Resources and the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism with the power to name the company after investigating these issues further.

After the report had been presented Members raised the following matters:

·                The hard work that had been undertaken in relation to the LATC over the last 18 months.  Councillor Mike Rouse thanked his predecessors as Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism, Councillors Roger Bennett and Pat Witherspoon, for their work.

·                The key assumptions and the changes that had been made to these.  Officers advised that these were largely the same as they had been in March 2018.

·                The identity of the project sponsors.  Members were advised that this was the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Resources.

·                The potential for redundancies to occur following the introduction of the LATC and how the redundancy payments would be funded.  Officer explained that any redundancy payments would be provided from balances.

·                The potential for the LATC to charge people to attend events and the implications for Morton Stanley Festival.  The Committee was informed that there were no plans to charge for attending the festival. 

·                The need for the LATC to report any changes in respect of charging for to the Shareholders Committee for approval.

·                The potential for ticket sales to generate more income that could be reinvested in services.

·                The foreword to the business plan and who would sign it.  Officers explained that the Council would expect the Managing Director to sign this once s/he had been appointed.

·                The potential to include a measure that demonstrated the Council’s commitment to work with people who volunteered to help with providing services at venues like the Palace Theatre.  Members were advised that an operational measure focusing on volunteers could be developed.

·                The need for the Council to provide the company with the flexibility it required to deliver good quality services that met the needs of residents whilst operating as an effective business.

During consideration of this item Councillor Bill Hartnett proposed an amendment to the proposals detailed in the report.  This amendment was seconded by Councillor Greg Chance.

The amendment proposed that the final recommendation listed in the report should be changed to the following:

“The Council arrange a local competition with a normal prize asking the public to suggest a company name and logo for the proposed new company”.

In proposing the amendment Councillor Hartnett suggested that it would be good to engage with the public as part of the introduction of the company.  The competition could last for two to three weeks and might be appreciated by local residents.

Members subsequently discussed the proposed amendment and concerns were raised that this type of competition could follow the national campaign in 2016 to name a polar research ship, where the most popular name had been Boaty McBoatface.    Concerns were also raised about the timeframes available and it was suggested that there may not be sufficient time available to run a competition. 

On being put to the vote the amendment was lost.

During consideration of this matter a further amendment was proposed by Councillor Tom Baker-Price.  This was seconded by Councillor David Bush.

The amendment proposed that the final recommendation listed in the report should be changed to the following:

“The naming of the company is delegated to the Executive Director Finance and Resources after consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism and the Head of Service for Leisure and Cultural Services.”

During consideration of the amendment Members questioned whether the choice of name for the company should be postponed until the Managing Director of the LATC had been recruited.  However, Officers noted that this could delay progress with the introduction of the company.  As an alternative the potential for the Managing Director to rename the company once s/he had been appointed was discussed.  However, Officers advised that the company could be renamed various times at Companies House after it had been registered but there would be a need for consistency in terms of the trading name and branding of the LATC communicated to the public, in order to build awareness amongst potential customers.

On being put to the vote the amendment was agreed.

RECOMMENDED

1)        approval of the Business Plan at Appendix 5 to include the key assumptions at Section 8 and confirmation of a date of transfer as from 1^st December 2018 for the following services:

·         Abbey Stadium Sports Centre

·         Palace Theatre and Palace Youth Theatre

·         Forge Mill Needle Museum and Bordesley Abbey Visitors Centre Inc. access to Bordesley Abbey Ruins

·         Community Centres at Windmill Drive, Oakenshaw, Batchley and Winyates Green.

·         Pitcheroak Golf Course

2)         approval of the establishment of a member panel to undertake the recruitment of the Managing Director and Non Executive Directors. It is proposed that this panel comprises the Leader, relevant Portfolio Holder and the leader of the opposition, or their nominees. This panel will be supported by 2 senior officers of the Council;

3)         approval of, in principle, the investment opportunities as detailed in Appendix 6 and request officers bring detailed business cases to the Board of Directors for final approval;

4)         approval of the funding of £55k from balances to fund an Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) system to ensure the NewCo has the functionality to enable marketing, income generation and customer insight to be at its most effective

5)         approval of a transfer from balances of £74k to cover the period of the initially agreed transfer date of 1^st September 2018 to the revised date of 1^st December 2018;

6)        approval of the measures framework as included in Appendix 3 of the report; and

7)      the naming of the company is delegated to the Executive Director Finance and Resources after consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism and the Head of Service for  Leisure and Cultural Services.

[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 and information relating to consultations or negotiations, including contemplated consultations or negotiations in relation to labour relations matters].