Agenda item

To receive Active Northumberland’s Annual Service Report April 2020 – April 2021.

The Committee received Active Northumberland’s Annual Outcomes Report 2020-21 and Annual Service Report for 2020-21, as requested by the Committee at the meeting on 13 January 2021.  (A copy of the reports are attached to the signed minutes as Appendices C and D.)

Nigel Walsh, Head of Cultural Services explained that he was responsible for the leisure client function and was joined by Mark Warnes, Active Northumberland’s Chief Executive and Joanne Farrier, Head of Commercial and Resources.  He referred to the 4-year partnership agreement with Active Northumberland to manage the Council’s leisure services at 9 leisure centres and a number of additional sites.  Partial and full closures during the pandemic had a significant impact on access, participation and revenue generation.

Joanne Farrier presented the Annual Service Report and Annual Outcome Report for 2020-21 and provided a brief background for Active Northumberland, a registered charity formed in 2014 from the merger of 4 different leisure service providers.  The presentation set out:

·        Background information on the facilities managed, Board members, number of employees.

·        Vision

·        Enhancement of Website and App to enable online digital booking, online digital exercise classes during lockdowns, outdoor fitness sessions and bootcamps when permitted, use of facilities and staff as test centres.

·        Financial highlights: a loss of £1.85 million at 31 March 2021; management of utility consumption and work to mitigate utility tariff increases; comparison of income streams between 2019-20 and 2020-21.

·        Participation and performance.

·        Pursuance of Quest quality assurance accreditation.

·        Future Aims for ‘Mams on the Move’, group exercise programme, Learn to Swim and working with swimming clubs to develop a performance programme to represent the county nationally.

·        Catering Opportunities, rebranding of HIVE cafes and promotion of good nutrition?and importance of?hydration.

·        Service Improvement Aims.

·        Capital and remedial works - essential work had been brought forward to minimise the impact on customers when sites reopened; development of spa services to aid mental wellbeing.

The following issues were raised by members:

·        Investment in existing or provision of new facilities were required in towns such as Rothbury and Bedlington and should be included in any strategic review.  Residents and school children from Rothbury were incurring significant mileage to use facilities and access swimming lessons in Alnwick, contrary to the green agenda.  It was suggested that the Councillor raise this issue with the Portfolio Holder and Leader as it was an issue for the Council’s Administration and not within the responsibility of Active Northumberland.  Opportunities for the site at Rothbury were being investigated.  The nature and size of the county meant that there were access issues, particularly for residents in rural areas.

·        Consideration be given to opportunities to improve the fitness of residents with long covid, such as a mobile scheme, as travelling from rural areas would be exhausting.

·        Provision of equipment and/or specialist staff which could be used by amputees, people with other disabilities or recovering from long covid.

·        In areas of deprivation, some families did not have the money to pay for children to use facilities at leisure centres and many others, such as the elderly, were not comfortable using sports centres and gyms.  Sports Development teams used to work with community centres and this should be recommenced.  Active Northumberland worked closely with NCC Sports Development Team and School Sports Team which had ceased during the pandemic, but they would welcome efforts to get individuals, including the elderly, back into centres.

·        It was essential to promote the benefits of exercise at an early age and therefore the development of schools’ sports development was critical.

·        The role of Active Northumberland was incredibly important to the health of individuals at more risk from the effects of the virus.

·        The table on page 36 of the papers be reviewed to include information on performance in addition to outcomes from the previous year and objectives for the current year.

The following information was provided in answer to questions:

·        Some adaptions had been implemented at new facilities but Active Northumberland were willing to work collaboratively with the Council to obtain expert advice to better understand demand and requirements of all users.

·        Accessibility had been recognised and digital services had been made available free of charge during the recent lockdown periods.  It was recognised that this was not suitable for all, but the digital offering would continue to be developed.

·        The Council’s partnership agreement with Active Northumberland was due to be reviewed and would include: performance, value for money, whether priorities for the Council were the same, public perception, availability of digital offer and potential impact on income generation.  Many issues needed to be balanced to maximise the benefits of the investment.  Collaboration with the Integrated Health Team, Public Health and Sport Development were essential.

·        Active Northumberland’s policy on refunds were that payments were non-transferable and non-refundable, although each request was considered on a case-by-case basis.  All members had received a refund of during the various lockdowns with thousands of transactions processed by a few staff who had not been furloughed.  If an individual was required to isolate and was unable to attend sessions, the money was credited to their online account so they could use the funds to repurchase a session in the future.

·        The majority of the loss for 2020-21 had been mainly due to lost revenue although business grants and a successful bid to the national leisure recovery fund had contributed to reduce the amount.  Staffing and utility costs were the largest areas of expenditure; utility costs continued whether the centres were open or not.  They had been careful how the centres had been run when closed such as turning down lighting, pool temperatures, and plant and machinery although it still been necessary to treat water in pools, run pumps and filtration, given the uncertainty regarding the period of closure.  Emptying pools could have incurred problems in the future with a reduction of pressure on pool liners and tiles.

·        All premises were open but some of the smaller centres were not open full time due to a dramatic reduction in membership numbers.  Outdoor activities had recommenced in March and all activities and clubs had now restarted.  The new Ponteland Leisure Centre had opened briefly in October and was being well used.  They hoped to reengage with members who had left through marketing, telephone engagement and email campaigns.  They were focusing on different memberships including one for junior members and a staff offer for NCC employees, both of which had very popular.

·        Work on the transformation programme continued although Covid-19 had forced them to look at the operation of the business and work more effectively and efficiently.  Key performance indicators were monitored regularly and fed into the outcomes framework and objectives were provided on a quarterly basis to the Head of Culture.

·        Changing priorities included ensuring that staff were safe and use of an online booking system which had assisted in the aim of reducing queues in reception.  Extra support had been provided via telephone calls for the exercise referral and weight management programmes and the elderly.  Individuals had found it easier to talk on a 1 to 1 basis.  Continuation of smaller groups or virtual sessions had been requested.  This would be reviewed to see whether it could be sustained.

The officers were thanked for the report and presentation.  The Chair requested that the committee have the opportunity to feed into the review of the partnership agreement prior to the signing of the new agreement on 31 March 2022.  Members also thought it important to receive an update which considered the impact on membership numbers and whether the business plan and priorities had changed.

Members were invited to contact officers at Active Northumberland, at the earliest opportunity, if they became aware of issues that had arisen within their wards as it would be beneficial for all to work collaboratively.  It was suggested that feedback could also be obtained from Town and Parish Councils.

The Committee expressed their admiration to the team for recently saving a life at Willowburn Sports Centre.

RESOLVED that:

1.      Active Northumberland’s Annual Outcomes Report 2021-21 and Annual Service Report for 2020-21, be received.

2.      Active Northumberland be thanked for their work during the pandemic, including support to communities, schools and health services, which had been incredibly valuable as well as reopening centres quickly when permitted.

3.      The Committee were encouraged by the optimism for the future whilst noting the challenges ahead.

4.      An update on the development of the partnership agreement, membership numbers, challenges, business plan and priorities be presented to the Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee in early 2022.