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since August 2021 work has been undertaken to establish a Local Authority Trading Company to run the existing Leisure Management Contract provided by SLM;

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the project was on track to complete the transfer by 1 April 2022; the new company ‘Plymouth Active Leisure Limited’ had been registered with Company’s House, branding had been agreed, a new website was in development and officers were due to launch a marketing campaign;

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a new leisure management IT system had been purchased and was currently being configured, TUPE proceedings had started and staff engagement sessions had been held, procurement officers were buying all goods and services needed for 1 April 2022 deadline and operating policies and procedures for the running of the centre were being drafted;

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a draft version of the new service specification was set out in the report as well as identified risks.

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clarification was sought as to what was being scrutinised as Councillor Deacon had referred to “the centre” in his opening presentation; the Chair confirmed that the Leisure Services Contract contained a variety of sporting and leisure venues and not just the Life Centre, therefore if one centre was being referred to then it should be named specifically;

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it was queried how the contract was being managed, the staffing levels and if employees/ directors had the correct skillset; there were concerns that governance of this contract wasn’t referred to in the report therefore it was questioned who the trustee directors were and how they were selected in order to ensure that the correct management structure was set beneath that to deliver what was needed;

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concerns were raised regarding the amount of work to be done in less than a month until 1 April 2022 deadline; with less than 4 weeks to go had an action plan been created to log what needed to be completed, specifically regarding condition surveys and the equipment? It was responded that the report was a progress report on work undertaken since August 2021 when the business case was approved by the council. Work streams were on course to be delivered by 1 April 2022 and whilst it was acknowledged that there was still a lot to be done there was an extensive programme team leading the project and there was a confidence that deadlines would be met;

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reassurance was sought as to whether the facilities contained within the Leisure Services Contract would be fully operational with up to date health and safety standards and all equipment in place by 1 April 2022 deadline; there were concerns that the LATC may be required to undertake and pay for works if Everyone Active had not completed by the agreed date; it was confirmed by the Strategic Director that this would be completed;

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it was queried if Plympton gym was contained within the leisure services contract; it was responded that Plympton gym was being brought into the contract and was on target to be transferred on 17 March 2022 to SLM, before being contained within the transfer to the LATC on 1 April 2022. Planning permission had been granted on the site for an extension and officers were working through business cases and feasibility studies;

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there was disappointment that: training and development would only be reviewed other than ensuring it was appropriate and detailed; that a strategic approach to apprenticeships would only be being looked at other than having a commitment to provide apprenticeships in the city by the new training subsidiary; and that it was only being considered that an early staff survey would be undertaken to set a baseline. It was responded that the lack of workforce strategy was considered a key risk and whilst there was confidence that the transfer would be complete by 1 April 202, there was still work to be done with regards to the workforce specifically with regards to vacancies and skills gaps. Scrutiny on this issue post transfer was welcomed;

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how many employees were expected to transfer over with the leisure contract; was it known if any didn’t want to transfer across and what affect would this have on the service? It was responded that approximately 250 employees were employed and the final TUPE list would need to be validated against what was known about the structure and where the vacancies were;

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SLM members currently could make use of an App to book classes and renew their membership, would this continue from 1 April? It was responded that the Plymouth Active App was in development and would enable members to book a class or deal with their membership, further functions would follow;

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was there reassurance that on 1 April 2022 Everyone Active in Plymouth would transfer Members to Plymouth Active Leisure Limited and not hold on to them? It was responded that from 1 April 2022 all Members would TUPE transfer across to Plymouth Active Leisure members however Members would only be able to use facilities as part of the contract as this was not a national operator. It was highlighted that in terms of GDPR, the council was adhering to relevant policies and procedures;

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had officers asked permission for staffing TUPE on a GDPR basis to happen as there were concerns that this could take several months to complete; it was responded that this was in progress as part of SLM’s bulk deed transfer and data migration;

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there was a concern that if problems were experienced in transferring data across to Plymouth Active, then sporting and leisure facilities in Plymouth would be hindered in reaching out to users in order to advise them of the service and what was on offer resulting in a lack of faith in the service and a drop in numbers; it was responded that there was a potential risk in terms of data migration however when Plymouth Active took over they would have more control of the data management to help to improve and increase activity programmes and participation;

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the importance of bringing open space into the offer, specifically with regards to Devonport; it was responded that there was a desire to take sports out into communities and this was being explored;

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did inductions for equipment only apply to new Members? It was responded that the equipment wasn’t changing on sites therefore all inductions previously undertaken were still valid. New members would be required to undertake an induction;

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was a survey of members going to be undertaken in order to allow for greater business planning? It was responded that this was being explored, as well as potentially expanding the Life Centre user group to other sites;

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was there an intention to help market clubs and organisations that used facilities within the Leisure Services Contract? It was considered that in order for Plymouth Active to be a success then these clubs and organisations needed to be successful; it was responded that officers were keen that people’s health and wellbeing was improved and that would be achieved by working together with stakeholders and partners;

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was there going to be active engagement with the student community in the city who were keen to use the leisure facilities across the city? It was responded that students would be engaged and that arrangements already in place to cater for students at the Life Centre would continue;

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could assurances be made that community engagement would take place across the city, with a focus also on GPs, and social prescribing? It was responded that TA6 were leading a campaign on engagement and a follow up activity would take place after 1 April 2022 in order to help maximise usage and utilisation across all sites in the city;

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it was queried if the marketing of Plymouth Active had gone through an accessibility study as it was considered that the images provided focused towards young and fit people, the text was hard to read and the logo appeared to fade into the background; it was responded that the images in the agenda pack were only examples and the marketing would depict different images depending on the target audience;

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a request was made for a copy of the marketing plan to be sent to members; it was responded that time may not allow input to be made into it as things were in the process of development;

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there was concern from a Councillor that he had no confidence that the Council was going to be ready for 1 April 2022 transfer date as timelines had not been provided detailing lines of development, the progression set against targets or the risks involved;

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