PAPER A

POLICY COMMISSION MEETING

Meeting	Policy Commission for Economy, Tourism, Regeneration and Transport
Ref	E.PC. 9/08/06
Date	9 August 2006
Time	18.00 hours
Place	Committee Room 1, County Hall, Newport
Purpose of meeting	Formal Public Meeting
Attendance	Commission	Cllrs George Brown (Commissioner), Henry Adams, Jonathan Fitzgerald-Bond, Ivan Bulwer, Charles Hancock, John Hobart, Lora Peacey-Wilcox
	Cabinet
	Cabinet Secretariat	Cllr David Pugh
	Other Councillors	Cllrs Vanessa Churchman, Gill Kennet, Arthur Taylor, David Whittaker
	Officers	Ms Andrea Lisseter, O&S Team Mr John Metcalfe, Assistant Chief Executive Mr Sean Newton, Project Manager
	Stake holders	Mr Ewan Shinton, Consultant, New Horizons
	Apologies	Cllr Alan Wells, Ms April West
Agenda Items
1. To agree the notes of the previous meeting	1.1 The notes of the meeting held on 12 July 2006 were agreed.
2. To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda	2.1 There were no declarations of interest.
3. To consider the scoping document in relation to the proposed Hubs enquiry E6/06	3.1 The scoping document had been approved by the Aim High Strategy Group on 8 August 2006. 3.2 The Commission formally approved the scoping document.
Action required	None
4. Value for Money Leisure E4/05	The Commissioner stressed that the Commission’s task in all projects was to examine the elements of prospective policies and to take evidence from stakeholders prior to making recommendations to the Cabinet. The Commissioner emphasised that Commissions were not decision making bodies. 4.1 The consultant from New Horizons presented the research findings from the work undertaken over the past 7 months. 4.2 Work undertaken included a shadow financial plan, legal cost estimates, a condition survey, and a life cycle survey. 4.3 A recent publication from the Audit Commission stated that Councils should improve the strategic planning of sports facilities by assessing the current and future needs, collaborating across all sectors, appraising the delivery options to ensure best value, and measuring performance to demonstrate value for money. 4.4 There was an opportunity to increase income from facilities by rescheduling. For example, swimming lessons were currently only held during term time. Officers confirmed that this would be addressed in January 2007. 4.5 There were problems associated with the dual use agreement between the Council and Medina High school. The agreement did not set out clear parameters. This could be addressed once the needs analysis was complete. 4.6 Background information regarding the condition survey was available to Commission Members. 4.7 There was likely to be a loss of income during upgrades to facilities as temporary closures would be necessary. 4.8 The figures were calculated on an individual site basis. 4.9 The consultant recommended Option C to the Commission as more information would need to be gathered to proceed with the procurement process. 4.10 The Island Games Technical Committee were satisfied that the current facilities were fit for purpose for the Island Games. 4.11 Service and performance reports for cultural and leisure services could be put to the Audit and Performance Committee. 4.12 The Commission agreed to recommend Option C to the Cabinet as amended below Option C - Stop the Procurement Process Selection of this option will then require consideration of the following factors · Undertake a leisure needs analysis related to current service provision; · Undertake a whole island leisure service review in order to assess the feasibility of a national standard facility prior to making a PFI application or inviting partnerships from the private sector · Stop the procurement process and manage in-house with improvements to service performance, capital investment in the condition and lifecycle survey works and facility developments.
Action Required	That the Commission recommend Option C as set out above to the Cabinet.