Agenda item

a)    Joint report of the Director of Transformation and Partnerships and the Corporate Director of Regeneration and Local Services

b)    Presentation by Steve Howell, Head of Culture and Sport, Regeneration and Local Services

The Committee considered the Joint Report of the Director of Transformation and Partnership and the Corporate Director of Regeneration and Local Services that provided Members with background information on the overview of Leisureworks, background to the decision to in-source services, key considerations in relation to in-sourcing, transfer process and future actions (for copy of report, see file of minutes).

The Head of Culture and Sport, Regeneration and Local Services was in attendance to present the report and give a presentation that highlighted the following points:-

• Background to Trust
• In-Sourcing Reasons and the Council’s Response
• Strategic Options/Solutions
• Key Financial Implications
• HR Considerations
• Legal Considerations
• Key Risks and Benefits
• Preferred Option
• Implementation
• HR Implementation
• Financial Overview
• Next Steps

The Chairman thanked the Officer for the very detailed summary.

Councillor Patterson recognised that they had inherited this service from Derwentside District Council but sought clarification as to where the £16 million investment had come from and why this funding was purely directed at Consett. She also asked if the operating cost of £893,000 was a cost or deficit.

The Officer responded that Derwentside District Council had already committed £9 million and this money was transferred to the county as part of LGR. Additional investment was added for the building of the academy and the library and became a programme. He also confirmed that the operating figures were a deficit.

Councillor Dunn commented that the project was a success and needed to be recognised.

The Chairman thanked the team responsible for bringing the services operated by the Trust in-house and made reference to the team receiving an award for their work on the project and it was suggested that the committee receive a further report detailing progress at a future meeting of the committee.

Resolved: (i) That the report be noted.

(ii) That the Environment and Sustainable Communities OSC receive a further progress report as part of the 2019/20 work programme.