Agenda item

To consider the recommendations from the Community Centre Review Task and Finish Group prior to Cabinet on 15 January 2014.

The Chairman stated that the report by the Community Centre Task and Finish Group was a generic one and did not focus on specific community centres. He therefore hoped that Members would not focus on specific community centres during the debate. The Chairman asked Cllr Elizabeth Shenton, the Chair of the Task and Finish Group to present the report.

Cllr Shenton stated that a huge amount of work had taken place since her report at the last meeting and she thanked Members and Officers for their efforts. She believed the work of the Task and Finish Group represented a very successful model going forward. It was important to note that the Council had a key definition of a Community Centre, which was defined within the report. A public consultation exercise had been undertaken between February and June 2013 and a tour of all fifteen community centres had been undertaken in February. This had been a positive move as it changed the direction of travel for the group. The Task and Finish Group report contained a number of proposals to the issues that they had identified. These included generic proposals that could be applied to and adopted by all management committees and some specific proposals to be addressed with Committees on a centre by centre basis. A report on the outcome of the study would be received by Cabinet in autumn 2014. Some of the key proposals included producing and implementing a comprehensive community centre guide along with relevant training, in conjunction with strategic partners by July 2014. A simple but effective way of improving communication was a single point of contact for the community centres to liaise with at the Council. Other proposals included improvements in procurement, electricity and bulk purchasing. It was proposed to undertake the proposals identified in section 3 of the report within existing revenue resources. Both Members and Officers would help to implement the proposals. It was worth noting that two community centres did not engage with the Task and Finish Group. The Scrutiny brief had originally been to look at other community facilities but it was decided to focus solely on community centres due to the level of work required.

The Vice Chair of the Task and Finish Group, Cllr David Loades, thanked the Officers and Members who had contributed to the report. He was also grateful to the community centres, the vast majority of which had engaged with the Task and Finish group. There were issues of cost to consider and the potential to do things differently. It was also important to show support to the community centres. He recommended the continuation of the work of the Task and Finish Group to proceed with an assessment of all community centres in all areas to fully understand the situation.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Shenton and Cllr Loades for their contribution. He stated that the review had been long overdue. He believed the work of the group to be a good model for Task and Finish Groups in the future.

A Member commented that communication with the centres was important believing the centres had the potential to thrive with the right expertise. A Member added that delivery needed to be precise and concise. The emphasis on delivery by the Community Centres was important.

There was a discussion about the future format of the group. It was suggested that a Cabinet Panel was the best way forward for the group. The Leader of the Council stated that he would discuss the prospect of delegated authority with the Portfolio Holder. It was also requested that a timeline be constructed by Officers, for implementing the proposals.

RESOLVED:            (a) That the Community Centre Task and Finish Review report be endorsed.

(b) That Officers establish a timeline for implementing the proposals contained within the report.

(c) That a Community Centre Cabinet Panel be established, with the Leader, to discuss the prospect of delegated authority with the Portfolio Holder.