Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Fonseca and Kamal.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2013, have been circulated and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2013 were agreed as a correct record.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

There were no petitions.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations and statements of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

There were no questions, representations or statements of case.

The Chair will present the final report on Sports Engagement in Leicester. 

The Chair presented the final report of the Commission’s Review into Sports Engagement in Leicester.  It was noted that thirteen recommendations arose from the Commissions’ conclusions.  The Chair discussed each of the recommendations with members, and sought endorsement of these, before submitting the report to the Executive. 

The Chair paid thanks to all of those who took an active role in developing the review. She explained that evidence had been sought from a range of providers within the Council as well as from Sport England. 

The Commission considered the following sets of proposed recommendations:

Sport England

The first set of conclusions and recommendations related to the work undertaken in partnership with Sport England. The first recommendation requested that any marketing should be carried out in a sensitive way and appropriate to the community.  It was agreed that the wording of this recommendation be strengthened to better clarify how data should be obtained and used. 

The second recommendation stated that ‘any strategy for sport should strengthen contacts between schools and sports clubs within the city to seek to reverse a rising trend of inactivity amongst youngsters’.  It was agreed that this recommendation be also amended to reflect the need to strengthen sports participation pathways, including the use of volunteering where deemed appropriate. 

Health Issues

The Chair explained that the commission had noted during the review the need for people to change their behaviour on a long-term basis rather than have short term changes.  In relation to establishing in more detail the effectiveness of the Leicester Active Lifestyle Scheme (ALS), it was pointed out that a comparative study of the Birmingham and Derby schemes should be undertaken to see which scheme, if either, is more appropriate for Leicester in terms of financial effectiveness and the issues of long-term behaviour change.

Schools Partnership Trust

The Chair reported that the Commission noted that a positive Olympic and Paralympic Legacy was a priority for the Trust, but that potential cuts to sports programmes for schools could have an adverse effect on this particular objective.

The recommendations in relation to the Sports Partnership Trust were supported by the Commission. 

City Council Sports Role

The Commission agreed that the title of this section be amended to read ‘City Council Sports and Active Lifestyle Role’. 

It was agreed that within conclusion 1.14, the word ‘staff’ be replaced with the word ‘customers’.

The Commission raised a number of questions in relation to the strategy to increase prices of services provided by sports and leisure centres.  The Head of Sports Services explained that an inflationary price increase was imposed annually.  It was suggested that officers gain details in respect of the price strategies of neighbouring authorities and how these had been set in light of the need to attract users from the more deprived sectors of the community. 

The Commission also discussed the pricing of the Council’s sports membership card.  In conclusion, it was agreed that the wording of recommendation 11 should be strengthened to reflect the Commissions’ view that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

It was noted that the Economic Development, Culture and Tourism Scrutiny Commission were to receive a briefing in relation to Leicester’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2017.  The briefing was to be provided at the meeting on 17 April, and given the links to this commission, it was confirmed that members of the Heritage, Leisure and Sport Scrutiny Commission also be invited for this particular item.