Issue - meetings

Future Provision of Leisure and Cultural Services

Meeting: 27/03/2017 - Cabinet (Item 113)

113 Leisure and Cultural Services - Future Provision of Services pdf icon PDF 127 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

AnnMcLaughlin

Councillor Ann McLachlan, Cabinet Member – Transformation, Leisure and Culture, said:

 

“This work highlights the crucial role that our leisure and cultural services play in the day-to-day lives of the residents of Wirral and achieving the pledges in our Wirral 2020 Vision.  Unfortunately due to pressures on funding we know that we cannot simply stand still and continue delivering services in the same way we have done in the past.  This report provides an update on work undertaken to date and the next phase.

 

There is still a lot of work to do to fully develop a business case to determine the most appropriate delivery model, and I am committed to ensuring this moves on quickly.  Ultimately we know that unless we radically reform services in ways such as this then we will be forced into damaging service cuts based on the funding we know we will have available”.

 

Councillor Phil Davies informed that Paddy Cleary Wirral UNISON’s Branch Secretary had asked if he could address the Cabinet on this item of business and he had given him permission.

 

Mr Cleary informed the Cabinet that the report set the Council on the path to re-provision of the associated services.  Before any challenge or alternative could be muted the ship had set sail, with a business case expected for June, which was frightening in its speed. Mr Cleary considered that it would be a mistake to not fully scrutinise, evaluate and challenge any recommendations, with input from trade unions, staff, local managers and residents in the various strands and site locations. He informed that this was a worrying time, yet again, for UNISON members and service users alike.

 

Mr Cleary believed that the information shared from Bates Wells Braithwaite (BWB) had been poor but, even so, they had been allowed to address the Labour Group with their preferred option. He informed that since the first time he had met with BWB, he had consistently requested that data be shared in order to scrutinise figures and allow the trade unions to give a view on any proposals, whether in their infancy or not. The leadership had been clear that UNISON would be involved and have access to the data requested.

 

Mr Cleary informed that UNISON was presented with a 64 page document just before it was put into the public domain and that was the first time trade union officials had seen the data and figures that had been used. There had been no sign of the shared intelligence report into libraries that had fed into this, again despite various requests and the belief that this would be ready at the end of 2016. He stated that this had been ‘sold’ as a standalone piece of work until BWB had come onto the scene and people could draw their own conclusions by the fact that it was not in the public domain.

 

Mr Cleary reported that currently, approximately £175,000 had been spent on Phase 1 and the shared intelligence report and a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 113