The Director for Sustainable City presented the Annual report. He highlighted that:

·         Participation levels  had fallen

·         Free swimming sessions for the under 17 had been well attended

·         Customer satisfaction levels were high

·         Introduction of healthier alternatives were to be offered in the vending machines.

The Divisional Manager for Fusion Lifestyle said that in the last year, participation levels for bonus card holder had reduced. This was due to a combination of leisure centres being renovated and the opening of several low cost gyms in Oxford which are offering cheaper prices for gym users than Fusion. Fusion’s business plan is not to match them on price but to focus on value. By providing good quality facilities, continuing to staff the centres and offering a wide range of activities which are attractive to the whole family.

The steeper decline in participation levels of bonus users in deprived areas has led to Fusion offering a cheaper offer for users of the Leys Leisure Centre. There is a higher rate of casual users in deprived areas. This data is not captured by Fusion.

The Committee provided the following feedback:

The Committee requested a breakdown of the participation rate, activity and ethnicity per leisure centre.

Given the market has changed and participation levels are falling, is the current Council contract with Fusion still working?   The Director for Sustainable City said that the impact on falling participation rates is more of a financial concern for Fusion than the Council. There are no financial implications for the Council as the Council no longer pays Fusion an infrastructure grant or user subsidy.  If the trend continues, Fusion might get worried about their business model.

The Committee asked to see participation figures for all council funded leisure activities. The Sports Development Manager said that data was available and she will make sure it is sent to the committee.

Both Fusion and the Council will be running marketing campaigns to promote Fusion’s range of activities.

GP referrals are still happening and Fusion has trained more staff so that more GP referrals can be accepted. It is a perennial struggle to maintain GP referrals and encourage surgeries to refer people. It was suggested the GP referral form was too cumbersome to fill out.  Officer to review this and report feedback to GPs.

Fusion has the same target as the Council to reduce CO2 emissions each year by 5%. We are getting to a stage where more expensive schemes are needed to meet this target. This year LCD lighting has been installed at Ferry Leisure Centre and a pool cover for Hinksey is being considered.

Concern was raised about BME usage at leisure centres particularly the women’s only pool session being staffed by men which has discouraged users. The Divisional Manager for Fusion Lifestyle said that it was Fusion’s intention for female staff to run female only sessions however, occasionally it can’t be due to sickness etc. 

The Committee asked whether Fusion could make the pool private during women only sessions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20

The Scrutiny Committee noted the additional information report but were not happy with the quality and content of the response. They felt it was thin and lacked detail.

The Committee would like more details on all the questions in terms of outcomes measured and wished to invite the Community Services Manager and Board member for Leisure, Parks and Sports to discuss the questions with the committee, at a date to be determined.

The Head of Community Services has submitted a report which outlines Fusion Lifestyle’s Annual Service Plan for the management of the Council’s leisure facilities for 2016/17.

Recommendations: That the City Executive Board resolves endorse the Fusion Lifestyle Annual Service Plan for 2016/17.

The Head of Community Services submitted a report which outlined Fusion Lifestyle’s Annual Service Plan for the management of the Council’s leisure facilities for 2016/17.

Cllr Smith, Board Member for Leisure, Parks and Sport presented the report. She highlighted the accessible and affordable leisure being offered, value for money and improved energy efficiency in the plan. The Council’s subsidy was due to be zero in 2017 and a profit share arrangement will commence. Monthly client performance meetings and the Scrutiny Committee’s involvement were really important in maintaining leisure standards.

The Head of Community Services said that usage has increased 54% since Fusion took the contract in 2009 and there were around 1.3M visits per year to the Council’s leisure centres in 2015/16.  He suspected swimming numbers are down because people are doing other forms of exercise as overall participation had increased. 

The Fusion Divisional Manager said that Fusion had a strong relationship with the Council.  Future plans included a new website and user monitoring system to record service and participation.

Cllr Price asked if there were any plans to extend the range of activities available. The Head of Community Services said the Council was constantly looking at what they offered people. Group exercises classes are really popular and the Council is always looking to increase the range.

A list of concerns were raised by Councillors for the Fusion Manager to feedback to his staff, these included:

·         Increasing the parking at the Leys leisure centre

·         Strengthening enforcement and signage of shoe-free area in swimming zone.

·         Fixing repairs in a timely manner

·         Timetabling different sessions for different groups at Hinksey Pool

·         Considering the introduction of an under 16 participation card.

·         Extending the healthy food trial to all leisure centres.

The Fusion Divisional Manager said that all programmes were reviewed quarterly.

The City Executive Board resolves to ENDORSE the Fusion Lifestyle Annual Service Plan for 2016/17.

Item 6 (minute 22) and item 7 (minute 23) were taken together.

Discussion of this item can be found in minute 22