Agenda item

To receive an update on leisure.

To follow.

The Committee received an update in relation to leisure services, and in particular provided background information to the decision to reconsider the provision of leisure services in Haringey, part-way through the existing 20-year contract with Fusion Lifestyle and following the successful insourcing of New River Sport and Fitness in August 2021. The report was introduced by Zoe Robertson, Head of Place, as set out in the secondary report pack at pages 1-5. Cllr Emily Arkell, Cabinet Member for Culture, Communities and Leisure was also present for this agenda item. The following arose during the discussion of this agenda item:

1. The Committee sought assurances around what was meant by the assertion in the report that the current contract was good for the Council financially and that it could not be replicated in the current market. In response, officers advised that it was recognised that the leisure industry had changed since the contract was signed, particularly in terms of the rise of budget gyms. Most of these types of facilities did not have swimming pools, which were very expensive to run, and had very few staff working there. A lot of staff were taken out of the Council leisure centres during the pandemic, which impacted their maintenance and repairs. The provisions of the existing contract could not be replicated in the current market and any changes made to the existing service provision had to be mindful of that.
2. In relation to a question about the source of water ingress, officers advised that the water had been tested and it was believed to be freshwater. Negotiations with Thames Water were ongoing.
3. In response to a question about what ran off the high-voltage electrical system that was still in operation, officers advised that this was mainly for the circulation of water in the swimming pool.
4. The Committee commented that there were significant equality implications in relation to the only pool in the east of the borough having been out of action for since 31^st December 2022. The Committee also highlighted the lack of access to pools for schools and emphasised the lifesaving skills that learning to swim provided to children and in particular children on the autism spectrum, who may be naturally attracted to water. The Committee sought assurances about when this facility would reopen. In response, officers advised that a tender process was underway for the works to the high-voltage system which was a very specialised field, and that once these works had begun the high-voltage supply would have to be switched on and all of the systems checked to see whether any damage may have been caused. In light of this it was expected to take several more months and that it would realistically be towards the end of the year before the pool was up and running again.
5. The Committee enquired as to what contingency plans had been drawn up to provide leisure facilities for those in the east of the borough, given it will have been out of action for around one year. In response, officers advised that it was recognised that there was a significant lack of swimming facilities in the borough. A study by Sport England reported that there were 40% less swimming facilities in the borough than there should be. Officers set out that as a result, there were very few places that residents could be redirected to locally.
6. The Committee highlighted the frustration from residents around the poor communication from the Council about what was happening and asked whether improvements could be made in relation to the communications between Fusion, residents, Thames Water and councillors. In response, officers advised that the communications with residents and councillors had improved as time went on. Officers agreed to provide feedback to Fusion and the team that Members would appreciate more comms. (Action: Zoe Robertson).
7. The Committee sought assurances around some of the other services that had been impacted by the water leak, such as Marcus Garvey Service Centre and Library as well as the crèche. In response, officers advised that all of the electricity to the building was lost and that once the low power voltage was restored and plant room had dried out then these services were restored in April 2023.
8. The Committee sought assurances about what options were available to the Council as part of the review of leisure services. Officers advised that in broad terms, as part of a review, the options could include; insourcing the service, seeking a different provider, continuing with Fusion on as-is basis, and continuing with Fusion in some form of amended basis.
9. The Committee commented that Fusion had been underperforming for some time and that they were clearly not delivering what they were contractually obliged to deliver. It was suggested that this had happened for so long as to have exhausted any good will within the community. In that context, Members asked for a commitment from the Cabinet Member that this would be dealt with. The Chair of the Children’s Panel also welcomed a physical activity review taking place and advised that the Panel was currently concluding a scrutiny review on this topic. In response, the Cabinet Member advised that the report clearly set out that the Council was not happy with the current situation and that serious concerns existed, not least with the fact that the pool had been closed for so long. The Cabinet Member gave assurances that the matter was a source of significant concern and was being dealt with. The Cabinet Member also welcomed the opportunity for the scrutiny review to link in with the review being undertaken by the service. 
10. The Committee asked for an outline of the process for the review into future leisure services provision and how Scrutiny might engage with it. In response, officers advised that there were a number of commercial sensitivities involved in undertaking any review and that they couldn’t say much more at this point. Officers advised that they would bring a more detailed update to the next Committee meeting. (Action: Zoe Robertson).
11. The Committee noted that nationally there was a drive for greater integration of health services with leisure facilities and sought assurances about what Haringey was doing about this. The Cabinet Member advised that there was an opportunity to link up leisure services with a much more holistic Health & Wellbeing Strategy, that was much more responsive to user need and also can be better linked in with parks and green spaces, as well as other services we deliver. 
12. The Committee requested assurances about whether the Council had applied for any government funding for swimming pools from the monies announced at the Spring Budget 2023. In response, officers advised that they had looked at the detail of the announcement and that per local authority the funding amount equated to around two weeks running costs for a swimming pool.
13. The Committee enquired whether there were any service level agreements in place with neighbouring boroughs for residents to use their swimming facilities. In response, officers advised that there were no SLAs currently in place with neighbouring boroughs and that each one had different leisure arrangements in place, potentially with different providers.
14. The Committee recommended that officers and the Cabinet Member look into what arrangements can be put in place with neighbouring boroughs for similar situations that might occur in future. (Action: Zoe/Cllr Arkell).
15. In response to a suggestion from a member of the Committee that the Council should seek to extricate itself from the leisure contract, officers advised that they were unable to comment further on the matter at this time.
16. The Committee also made a recommendation that when considering potential insourcing options in future, that full consideration be given to weighting in favour of some form of resident oversight of leisure services, rather than it simply considering whether it was a good deal for the Council financially. (Action: Cllr Arkell).
17. In response to a question, officers advised that they would of course consider the experiences of successfully insourcing at New River when considering any future review of the leisure provision.
18. Cllr Bevan thanked officers for providing an informative report. Cllr Bevan also highlighted the fact that the showers at Broadwater Farm had not been working for 9 months and that there was a long running issue about the temperature of the pool at Tottenham Green Leisure Centre. Cllr Bevan commented that the Council should be doing more to advertise to residents about the fact they could use the Fusion leisure facilities in Enfield. Officers agreed to take this feedback to the team. (Action: Zoe Robertson).

RESOLVED

Noted