Agenda and minutes

(Director of Governance) To note the current Terms of Reference for the Group:

(i)         To assist in ensuring that the Council is in the best position to obtain a competitive and effective tender to deliver the desired outcomes of the Leisure and Cultural Strategy.

(ii)        To review the current services provided under the Leisure Management Contract and consider any changes to the programme of activity offered, how the contract may be packaged and the length of any contract period.

(iii)       To critically review the 4 Sports and Leisure Centres owned by the Council, giving consideration to their location, age, condition, costs/subsidy, and make recommendations on future provision/investment.

(iv)       To advise the Council’s Client Officer Team as they undertake the competitive dialogue process, considering options that may emerge as part of any bidders’ proposals.

(v)        To provide input into the appointment process for any potential contractor, and in particular, to participate in a Member Presentation and Interview Panel.

(vi)       To support the Portfolio Holder in recommending any successful Leisure Management Tender to the Cabinet, taking into consideration the Service and   Financial implications for the Council.

The Group noted its Terms of Reference.

(Director of Governance) To agree the notes of the last meeting of the Portfolio Holder Advisory Group on Leisure Management, held on 17 September 2015 (attached).

Resolved:

(1)        That the notes of the last meeting, held on 17 September 2015, be taken as read and agreed as a correct record.

(Director of Neighbourhoods) To consider the attached report (LMC-004-2015/16).

There was no public discussion on this item.

Exclusion

To consider whether, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) or are confidential under Section 100(A)(2):

The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, which came into effect on 1 March 2006, requires the Council to consider whether maintaining the exemption listed above outweighs the potential public interest in disclosing the information. Any member who considers that this test should be applied to any currently exempted matter on this agenda should contact the proper officer at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Confidential Items Commencement

Paragraph 9 of the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution require:

(1)        All business of the Council requiring to be transacted in the presence of the press and public to be completed by 10.00 p.m. at the latest.

(2)        At the time appointed under (1) above, the Chairman shall permit the completion of debate on any item still under consideration, and at his or her discretion, any other remaining business whereupon the Council shall proceed to exclude the public and press.

(3)        Any public business remaining to be dealt with shall be deferred until after the completion of the private part of the meeting, including items submitted for report rather than decision.

Background Papers

Paragraph 8 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution define background papers as being documents relating to the subject matter of the report which in the Proper Officer's opinion:

(a)        disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based;  and

(b)        have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report and does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information (as defined in Rule 10) and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

Inspection of background papers may be arranged by contacting the officer responsible for the item.

Resolved:

(1)        That, in accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the item of business set out below as it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12(A) of the Act indicated and the exemption was considered to outweigh the potential public interest in disclosing the information:

(Director of Neighbourhoods) To consider the attached restricted report (LMC-004a-2015/16).

Before the Group considered the report, D Macnab reported that the current contract with Sports & Leisure Management Limited (SLM) had been extended for a further year with a three month break clause. R Thompson from RTP Consulting then presented the report on the evaluation of the Pre-Qualification Questionnaires for the procurement of the Leisure Management Contract.

R Thompson reported that the Pre-Qualification process had been undertaken and this had resulted in the submission of five Questionnaires, all of which had been evaluated by the Officer Project Team which had included R Thompson as the Council’s consultant. The Questionnaires had requested the bidders to provide information on their organisation and economic and financial standing, along with information on health & safety, background and experience, and environmental approaches. In addition, there were six project specific questions included. All of the bidders were well established operators in the Leisure Management industry with significant experience, and all had scored 80% or more when their Questionnaires were evaluated. Consequently, the Council could be confident that the bids were from organisations who had the ability to deliver the contract, and it was being proposed that all five bidders should progress to the next stage, the Invitation to Submit Detailed Solutions (ISDS). The ISDS stage was scheduled to begin in mid-January 2016.

In response to questions from the Members present, R Thompson explained that the Questionnaire was based on a standard model used by local authorities, but tailored to meet the Council’s requirements, and was scored by the Officer Project Team as objectively as possible. Cllr Whitehouse requested sight of the documentation that the Questionnaires were based on, and this was agreed. R Thompson stated that site visits would be organised for the next stage of the process, but references had been included as part of the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire. D Macnab added that, during the procurement process for the current contract, sites similar to those owned by the Council had been selected for visits and it was intended to follow the same process for this procurement exercise. Members of the Group would be invited to attend the site visits.

R Thompson presented the current version of the Project Plan for the procurement of the new Leisure Management contract and highlighted the principal milestones to the Group.

R Thompson advised the Group that the next stage of the process was the ISDS, which would include competitive dialogue sessions with the bidders during February and March 2016, with the bids due for submission in April 2016. After the bids had been evaluated by the Officer Project team, the Invitation to Submit Final Tenders (ISFT) stage would commence, which would also include further competitive dialogue sessions with the bidders. The final tenders were due for submission in July 2016. The recommendation of the Group as to the preferred bidder would be submitted to the Cabinet on 1 September 2016 and the Council on 27 September 2016 for approval, and the new contract was scheduled to start in either December 2016 or  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

In relation to the notes of the last meeting, D Macnab reiterated that most schools had little interest in managing a swimming pool due to the high costs of maintenance involved. Cllr Whitehouse enquired whether Ongar Swimming Pool could be offered to a Community Group to manage? D Macnab stated that Officers would be reluctant to recommend the closure of a facility if a Community Group could take it over; however, Ongar Swimming Pool was aging and needed significant maintenance.

Cllr Whitehouse also felt that consideration should be taken of the frequency of the public transport service and not just the time taken to journey to a Leisure facility, as had been assumed at the previous meeting. It was highlighted by J Warwick that the majority of the users of Epping Sports Centre used their cars to travel there.

Future meetings of the Portfolio Holder Advisory Group in 2015/16 are currently scheduled for:

·         8 February 2016; and

·         11 April 2016.

The Group noted that there were meetings scheduled for 8 February 2016 and 11 April 2016.

D Macnab reported that the competitive dialogue for the Invitation to Submit Detailed Solutions (ISDS) was due to start on that date, and that there might not be anything substantial to report to the Group. Cllr Kane suggested that the next scheduled meeting be either deferred to a date in March, or cancelled and the Group would convene again on 11 April 2016. The Group felt that it would be better to cancel the next scheduled meeting in February and meet again in April 2016.

Resolved:

(1)        That the next scheduled meeting of the Group on 8 February 2016 be cancelled.