Agenda item

The opportunity is given to members of the public to put questions to Cabinet Members, provided that questions relate to the business on the agenda of this Extraordinary Meeting and do not contravene the provisions set out Council Procedure Rule 10(2).

 

To ask a question at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Friday 13 October 2023 or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

39.1    A local resident asked:

 

“The closure of the swimming pool will affect many people’s mental health. How will the city council support these people?”

 

39.2    Councillor Lewis, Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, responded:

 

“The Council is working hard to get the leisure facilities reopened as soon as possible following the surprising and disappointing decision of Aspire Trust to close them at the end of September. In Gloucestershire, adult mental health services are provided by Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust. There is a range of information for adults and children who feel they may need some advice or support here:

 

https://www.nhsglos.nhs.uk/your-health-services/community-and-hospital-care/mental-health/

 

39.3    A local resident asked:

 

“The lost direct debit payments of members for the gym and pool have been taken and not returned. How will the city council repay these people?”

 

39.4    Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“Any creditors with potential claims against the Aspire Trust should take this up with those legally responsible for that organisation, which is currently the Board of Trustees.”

 

39.5    A local resident asked:

 

“150 people lost their jobs and were not paid the last months wages. Will the City Council compensate these workers?”

 

39.6    Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“Aspire Sports and Cultural Trust were the employer of those who worked at GL1 and as such are responsible for salary and any redundancy payments due as a result of its closure. It is understood that those made redundant were paid up to the end of September and have been advised how to access redundancy pay. Any staff who have not received monies owed to them should raise this with the Aspire Trust, their board of Trustees or their representatives who are legally responsible for that organisation. 

 

39.7    A local resident asked:

 

“When will the many freelancers who provided lessons at GL1 be paid and will the freelancers be offered hours/sessions by the new provider? They have been left high and dry and weren't even invited to the final meeting. They haven't been contacted by the trust or the city council since the closure of GL1.

 

39.8    Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“Any creditors with potential claims against the Aspire Trust should take this up with those legally responsible for that organisation, which is currently the Board of Trustees. The Council is working hard to get the leisure facilities reopened as soon as possible following the surprising and disappointing decision of Aspire Trust to close them at the end of September. As part of that work, the Council is seeking to procure a new interim leisure services operator to reopen and manage the facilities for the next 12-18 months. The new provider will have a wide range of jobs available and will definitely require skilled and knowledgeable staff (and, where appropriate, freelancers) to run the facilities in future.’

 

39.9    A local resident asked:

 

“Who had financial oversight of Aspire at the city council and, if they didn't realise that there were problems, who deemed them fit for the role? If they did realise that there were problems what did they do to mitigate the issues?”

 

39.10  Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“The Council has held regular management meetings with Aspire Trust throughout the duration of its management contract with the Council. The Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee has occasionally undertaken oversight of the Aspire Trust and invited its managers to report on performance. As a registered Charity, the Trust was also required to submit audited accounts and other information to the Charity Commission, and these are available on the Charity Commission’s website. The Council has provided significant financial and other support to the Aspire Trust, totalling over £1.5m since 2019, as it sought to help the Trust deal with challenges such as Covid and rising utility costs.

 

In early 2023 the Trust told the Council that it did not believe it could continue to trade for that contract extension period without further financial support, and shared business plans and forecasts setting out the additional amount of support it believed it needed to continue. Following an independent review of the Aspire Trust’s request and business plans, the Council agreed in principle to provide this additional level of funding requested, and believed that it had reached an in-principle agreement with the Trust to continue on that basis. However, the Board of Trustees decided on September 26^th not to continue to provide leisure services and to enter into liquidation.”

 

39.11  A Local resident submitted the following question:

 

“Why, after 15 years, hadn't the city council appointed a successor to Aspire in a timely fashion?”

 

39.12  Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“Two years ago, the Council commenced a procurement process to secure a leisure services provider from the expiry date of the contract with the Aspire Trust. The Council obtained the support of an expert leisure consultancy SLC to advise on procurement options and strategy. The options appraisal was considered at a Cabinet meeting on 4 May 2022, and set out a number of recommendations as to how the Council should proceed, including:

 

·       That the contract period with Aspire Leisure and Culture Trust be extended by a further 12 months on the condition that a Partnership Development Plan (PDP) is agreed for the duration of this extension, and

·       To procure a new leisure contract from an external provider.

 

The Council began negotiating with the Aspire Trust over a contract extension in March 2022. In July 2022, the Council and the Trust agreed a Partnership Delivery Plan for that 12 month contract extension period, and an associated management fee for that period.”

 

39.13  A local resident asked:

 

“Who at the city council is being held responsible for this fiasco? The citizens of Gloucester have been badly let down. Don't let finger pointing or self aggrandisement after the event cloud the fact that these essential services are now closed.”

 

39.14  Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“The Council was surprised and disappointed by the decision of the Aspire Trust to cease to manage these facilities and to enter into liquidation. The decision to cease to manage these facilities and to terminate the contract was taken by the Aspire Trust alone.”

 

39.15  A local resident asked:

 

“Why was staff told suddenly on the Friday when GL1 Leisure Centre was to close that day no notice (when the council and Aspire would of known for at least several days before hand?”

 

39.16  Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“The Council understands that the Board of Trustees took a decision to terminate its contract to run these facilities at a Board meeting on September 26^th. The Council was privately informed on September 27^th and was asked to keep this information private and confidential until the Trust could inform its employees directly itself, which it did on Friday 29^th September.”

 

39.17  A local resident asked:

 

“Why was the users not told on the Friday when they used the Facilities at GL1 leisure centre that was there last time (again kept rather secret from them also when the council and aspire would of known in advance)?”

 

39.18  Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“Decisions about the timing of any announcements relating to the Aspire Trust’s decision to cease to manage these facilities were a matter for those legally responsible for that organisation, which is currently the Board of Trustees. The Council understands that the Board of Trustees took a decision to terminate its contract to run these facilities at a Board meeting on September 26^th. The Council was privately informed of this decision on September 27^th and was asked to keep this information private and confidential until the Trust could inform its employees, which it did on Friday 29^th September.”

 

39.19  A local resident submitted the following question:

 

“Knowing that the council would of known that aspire was in financial difficulty why didn’t they step in to assist where possible all find another provider for Gl1 leisure centre at that point not leave it to the last minute on the day they closed the doors?”

 

39.20  Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“The Council has provided significant financial and other support to the Aspire Trust, totalling over £1.5m since 2019, as it sought to help the Trust deal with challenges such as Covid and rising utility costs.

 

The Council began negotiating with the Aspire Trust over a contract extension in March 2022. In July 2022, the Council and the Trust agreed a Partnership Delivery Plan for that 12-month contract extension period, and an associated management fee for that period.

 

In early 2023 the Trust told the Council that it did not believe it could continue to trade for that contract extension period without further financial support, and shared business plans and forecasts setting out the additional amount of support it believed it needed to continue. Following an independent review of the Aspire Trust’s request and business plans, the Council agreed in principle to provide this additional level of funding requested and believed that it had reached an in-principal agreement with the Trust to continue on that basis. However, the Board of Trustees decided on September 26^th not to continue to provide leisure services and to enter into liquidation. The Council was informed of this decision on Wednesday 27^th September.

 

Since being informed of this decision, the Council has been working hard to get the leisure facilities reopened as soon as possible. As part of that work, the Council has begun the process of procuring a new interim leisure services operator to reopen and manage the facilities for the next 12-18 months.”

 

39.21  A local resident asked:

 

“When will the facilities be back open to the much needed public and this time will the council wake up and assist not de assist people this is a well loved public facility so why don’t they let the public run it for its self (like for example a public interest Company)?”

 

39.22  Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“The Council is working hard to get the leisure facilities reopened as soon as possible following the surprising and disappointing decision of Aspire Trust to close them at the end of September.

 

As part of that work, the Council is seeking to procure a new interim leisure services operator to reopen and manage the facilities for the next 12-18 months. The Council hopes to appoint this interim service provider by the end of the month. It is looking for that operator to mobilise as soon as possible after appointment.

 

Two years ago, the Council commenced a procurement process to secure a leisure services provider from the expiry date of the contract with the Aspire Trust. The Council obtained the support of an expert leisure consultancy SLC to advise on procurement options and strategy. The options appraisal was considered at a Cabinet meeting on 4 May 2022, and recommended that the best sourcing option for the Council would be to procure a new leisure contract from an external provider. The appraisal identified that insourcing this service would be the most expensive option for the taxpayer, and would not deliver any service benefits.”

 

39.23  A local resident asked:

 

“Why did the council not jump in to help or try and rescue aspire trust; why instead, on the day of their closure, the council blame aspire trust failing and instead of pointing the finger like the council did, stand up and offer all their help? Clearly the council have some involvement in these failing and are trying to hide them.”

 

39.24  Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“The Council was surprised and disappointed by the decision of the Aspire Trust to cease to manage these facilities and to enter into liquidation. The Council has provided significant financial and other support to the Aspire Trust, totalling over £1.5m since 2019, as it sought to help the Trust deal with challenges such as Covid and rising utility costs.

 

The Council began negotiating with the Aspire Trust over a contract extension in March 2022. In July 2022, the Council and the Trust agreed a Partnership Delivery Plan for that 12-month contract extension period, and an associated management fee for that period.

 

In early 2023 the Trust told the Council that it did not believe it could continue to trade for that contract extension period without further financial support, and shared business plans and forecasts setting out the additional amount of support it believed it needed to continue. Following an independent review of the Aspire Trust’s request and business plans, the Council agreed in principle to provide this additional level of funding requested and believed that it had reached an in-principal agreement with the Trust to continue on that basis. However, the Board of Trustees decided on September 26^th not to continue to provide leisure services and to enter into liquidation. The Council was informed of this decision on Wednesday 27^th September.

 

The decision to cease to manage these facilities and to terminate the contract was taken by the Aspire Trust alone. Since being informed of this decision on September 27^th, the Council has been working hard to get the leisure facilities reopened as soon as possible.”

 

39.25  A local resident asked:

 

“I would like to express my disappointment and anger at how the staff at GL1 Aspire have been treated in the closure process. Can I ask if the correct legal procedure for notification of redundancy has been followed and what provision has been made for staff who no longer have an income?”

 

39.26  Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“The Council shares your disappointment at the decision of Aspire Trust to cease to manage these facilities at the end of September. Matters relating to the redundancy procedures followed by the Trust are a matter for those legally responsible for the Trust, which is currently the Board of Trustees.

 

The Council is seeking to procure a new interim leisure services operator to reopen and manage the facilities for the next 12-18 months. The new provider will have a wide range of jobs available and will definitely require skilled and knowledgeable staff to run the facilities in future. The Council has told those companies interested in this contract that staff recently made redundant by Aspire should be guaranteed interviews.

 

So far, all of the shortlisted providers have indicated that they are committed to doing this. They recognise the skills and talents and commitment of former staff and they have warmly embraced the opportunity to interview staff.”

 

39.27  A local resident asked:

 

“It is very difficult to understand how no alternative provision has been thought through or planned for all the users of GL1. What will happen to the hundreds of school children where it is a National Curriculum requirement for children to learn to swim? Does the Council not have a duty of provision or care to provide this?”

 

39.28  Councillor Lewis responded:

 

“There is no statutory duty on Councils to provide leisure services. The Council is working hard to get the leisure facilities reopened as soon as possible following the surprising and disappointing decision of Aspire Trust to close them at the end of September.”

 

Note:  A total of 29 public questions were received. To ensure the efficient transaction of the meeting’s business, questions from those present at the meeting were answered and responses to the remaining questions are appended to these minutes.