Agenda item

That the following be approved:

a.  The negotiated management fee for 2021/22 of £673k, and the negotiated management fee for 2022/23 of a minimum of £1,060k.

b.  The continued suspension of the Everyone Active (EA) community-based activity programme during 2022/23.

c.  That Sports & Leisure Management Ltd/Everyone Active (SLM/EA) could introduce above inflation (as of April 2022) price increases in Quarter 3 2022/23.

d.  Delegated authority be given to the Executive Director (Place & Community), in consultation with the Lead Member for Leisure, Culture and Communities, the Leader of the Council - Council Recovery, Forward Strategy & Economic Development and the Lead Member for Financial Oversight & Council Assets, to assess future options for the use of Salt Hill Activity Centre and to report back to Cabinet on the recommended option.

The Executive Director, Place & Community introduced the report which set out the operational changes to the delivery of the leisure services contract held by Sports & Leisure Management Ltd (SLM), trading as Everyone Active (EA), to optimise the management fee paid by SLM/EA to SBC.

The Cabinet considered and noted the Part II appendix without disclosing any of the exempt information.

The operational changes had an impact on the range of facilities available to residents and the prices charged to users. The proposed changes would enable SLM/EA to pay a higher management fee to the Council than would otherwise be the case.  It was noted that the closure of facilities and disruption to services during the Covid-19 pandemic had had a significant impact on leisure centre attendance.  The objective of the commercial negotiations with the contractor was to maximise the management fee to the Council and this included the continued suspension of the EA community based programme during 2022/23; above inflation (as of April 2022) price increases to be introduced in Quarter 3 of 2022/23; and re-open the Salt Hill Activity Centre with a reduced range of activity and reduced opening hours as the current opening hours and provision made the site unprofitable.

The Cabinet asked whether the autumn Covid-19 vaccination programme would impact on the re-opening of the Salt Hill Activity Centre.  It was not currently known where the next phase of the vaccination programme would be delivered from, but the report assumed the Activity Centre would used for that purpose until September 2022 and then be available to re-open as part of the leisure offer.  Lead Members commented that one of the major benefits of the current contract was that it returned an income to the Council via the management fee, which was not the case under the previous contract.  Despite the negative impacts of Covid it was considered that the negotiated agreement with the contractor that would restore a management fee was therefore the best option and the recommendations were agreed.

Resolved –

(a)  That the negotiated management fee for 2021/22 of £673k, and the negotiated management fee for 2022/23 of a minimum of £1,060k be agreed.

(b)  That the continued suspension of the Everyone Active (EA) community-based activity programme during 2022/23 be agreed.

(c)  That it be agreed that Sports & Leisure Management Ltd/Everyone Active (SLM/EA) could introduce above inflation (as of April 2022) price increases in Quarter 3 2022/23.

(d)  That delegated authority be given to the Executive Director (Place & Community), in consultation with the Lead Member for Leisure, Culture and Communities, the Leader of the Council - Council Recovery, Forward Strategy & Economic Development and the Lead Member for Financial Oversight & Council Assets, to assess future options for the use of Salt Hill Activity Centre and to report back to Cabinet on the recommended option.