The Director of Communities and Citizens Services submitted a report to update Cabinet on the highlights of the first year of the new leisure contract and approve the Annual Service Plan 2025-26, which is an annual requirement of the operator, aiming to align outcomes to the Council’s priorities and to address health inequalities. 

Cabinet is recommended to:

Approve the Leisure Annual Service Plan 2025-26. 

The Director of Communities and Citizens Services had submitted a report to update Cabinet on the highlights of the first year of the new leisure contract and approve the Annual Service Plan 2025-26, which is an annual requirement of the operator, aiming to align outcomes to the Council’s priorities and to address health inequalities. 

Councillor Munkonge presented the report. He said that there was a lot of good work being done in the plan and that they had seen a number of improvements, including an increase in numbers in swimming lessons. Despite these improvements, he recognized that they can always make improvements and do more. Councillor Munkonge apologized that the report did not have information regarding the creche. He noted that conversations were still underway between More Leisure and the Council on this topic and the outcome would be in the next plan for 26/27.

James Baughan, Leisure and Active Wellbeing Manager, said that there had been a lot of success in the last year and they had seen several improvements from their previous operator. Overall, he said that they were confident that everything was now running as it should. With transformation work in the centres, he noted that there was still work to do. Following up from Councillor Munkonge, the Leisure and Active Wellbeing Manager said that they community fund was now open for applications.

Hagan Lewisman, Active Communities Manager, said that there had been great successes with the contracts. He noted the positive developments with Hinksey pool and the Leys soft play area. He noted the good attendance that they had seen and discussed the governance they’d put in place to provide assurance moving forward.

Councillor Linda Smith noted her disappointed that no one from Serco had been able to attend the meeting. Councillor Smith emphasised the importance of having creches in their leisure facilities and discussed how this would make the leisure facilities. She noted that multiple creches had closed during COVID and had not reopened. She said that she was disappointed that the plan did not include the reopening of creches in their leisure facilities. 

Councillor Munkonge responded and said that they should focus on the bigger picture. He noted that some of the creches had closed because they were not viable. Councillor Munkonge agreed that the inclusion of a creche was important and apologized that their discussions about the creches had not been included in the agenda pack. He said that he had assured Councillor Smith that he would address this matter. He said that they were working with More Leisure to include creches in their plan for 26/27.

The Leisure and Active Wellbeing Manager added that there was a commitment from Council Officers and More Leisure to explore the viability of the creche for the 26/27 plan. He said that the current contract sought to look at things differently and make the centres more accessible. He noted the small childcare provision which was in place at the moment in one of their locations. He said that they were looking at different options and were looking to work with people in the community to find a good solution.

Councillor Chapman said that there was lot to be proud of in the plan and in the improvements they’d seen. He noted his concern regarding their resilience with lifeguard staff and the issues that had been seen with catering at several of the centres.

Councillor Arshad said that she was grateful for the report, and she appreciated the work the team had done to get this far. She agreed with Councillor Smith and emphasised the importance of having creches in their facilities so that they were more accessible. She said that she was happy with the Leys soft play area and noted that she was looking forward to the Leys Youth Hub. She asked about the discrepancy in equipment between the different facilities in the city.

The Leisure and Active Wellbeing Manager responded and said that the resiliency of lifeguard staff was an industry issue. He said that they had been working with a national organization to make leisure a career option for young people. He added that they were also working with a specialized lifeguard recruitment agency. Regarding the catering issues, he said that ongoing work was being done to address these problems at the Hinksey and Ferry centres. He agreed with Councillor Arshad about the importance of the creche and agreed that they needed to align a creche service with the hours of their women only classes in their centres. The Leisure and Active Wellbeing Manager said that they were still making improvements to the soft play area, to make it more attractive to families during the daytime. He explained that the difference in gym equipment was due to the different age demographics in each area and that some equipment was more suitable for the older demographics in some areas of the city.

Councillor Munkonge added that they were considering undertaking a benchmarking exercise, to compare their approach to leisure centres with neighbouring areas.

The Active Communities Manager said that in addition to their work to recruit more lifeguards, they were also working locally with schools to promote drowning prevention training. He added that they were working to improve the catering in the centres and were striving to make the food healthier. He recognized that there was still work to do in this area.

Councillor Turner concurred with fellow Councillors that there had been significant improvements over the past year. He acknowledged some of the frustration that had been voiced but said that they also needed to take accountability as they had a hand in deciding what was in the contract. He said that it would be useful for More Leisure to aid the visibility of the transport consultation being undertaken by the County Council. Councillor Turner said that he would advice the provider to work with users’ groups to consider opportunities to further their ambition for improvements.

Councillor Brown thanked the officers for their work. She said they all recognized the significant improvement in their leisure centres that had been seen over the past year. She said that she was excited to see the soft play opening and she noted the work underway to reinstate creches at their centres.

Cabinet resolved to:

Approve the Leisure Annual Service Plan 2025-26.