Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the call-in meeting.

To declare any personal / prejudicial interests for the purpose of Section 81(3) of the Local Government Act 2000 and paragraphs 8 to 12 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors D Atkinson and S Smith.

Notification had been received for Councillor P Grahame to substitute for Councillor  D Atkinson and for Councillor B Chasney to substitute for Councillor S Smith.

To receive and consider a report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report regarding the procedural aspects of the call-in process.

Members were advised that the options available to the Board in respect of this particular called-in decision were:-

Option 1 – Release the decision for implementation.  Having reviewed the decision, the Scrutiny Board (City Development) could decide to release it for implementation.  If this option was chosen, the decision would be released for immediate implementation and the decision could not be called-in again.

Option 2 – Recommend that the decision be reconsidered.  Having

reviewed the decision, the Scrutiny Board (City Development) may decide to

recommend to the decision maker that the decision be reconsidered.  If the

Scrutiny Board chooses this option a report will be submitted to the Executive

Board.

In the case of an Executive Board decision, the report of the Scrutiny Board

will be presented to the next available meeting. The Executive Board will

reconsider its decision and will publish the outcome of its deliberations within

the minutes of the meeting.  The decision may not be Called In again whether

or not it was varied.

RESOLVED – That the report outlining the call-in procedures be noted.

In accordance with Scrutiny Board Procedure Rules, to review a decision of the Executive Board regarding Garforth Squash and Leisure Centre.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report, together with background papers, relating to a review of a decision made by the Executive Board on 30^th March 2011 in relation to ‘Garforth Squash and Leisure Centre’.

Appended to the report were copies of the following documents for the information/comment of the meeting:-

• Copy of the completed call-in request form
• Garforth Squash and Leisure Centre – Report of the Acting Director of City Development submitted to the Executive Board meeting held on 30^th March 2011
• Relevant extract of the Executive Board minutes of 30^th March 2011

The decision had been called-in for review by Councillors A Lamb, D Schofield, B Anderson, C Fox and P Harrand on the following grounds:-

·  A lack of clarity of aims and outcomes

·  Insufficient information and lack of explanation of all the options considered and details of the reason for the decision taken by the Executive Board

·  A lack of openness and transparency and concerns as to what was being proposed

·  The 2000 plus named petition of local residents showing the level of local concern

·  The lack of a business plan and opportunity to other possible providers

·  Concerns about the overall process, particularly the level of detail in the Executive Board report

Councillors A Lamb and D Schofield attended the meeting and gave evidence to the Board as to why they had called this item in and responded to Members’ questions and comments.

The following representatives were also in attendance:-

Councillor A Ogilvie, Executive Member with portfolio responsibility for leisure

Martin Farrington, Acting Director of City Development

Richard Mond, Chief Recreation Officer, City Development

Mark Allman,  Head of Sport and Active Recreation, City Development

In summary, the main points raised by Councillors A Lamb and D Schofield  were the need:-

·  The concerns about the overall process, particularly the level of accurate detail in the Executive Board report

·  That discussions were ongoing with the School Partnership Trust regarding the lease and potential business plan of the Garforth Squash Club and Leisure Centre which, again, was not reflected within the Executive Board report

·  That Garforth Squash and Leisure Centre was viewed as a valuable asset to the Community

·  That, in view of the above reasons, the Executive Board report should be referred back for re-consideration

In explaining the reasons for the Executive Board decision, Councillor Ogilvie and officers made the following comments:-

·  The need to progress a proposal for community asset transfer for Garforth Sports Centre resulting from a reduction in the sports budget for 2011/12

·  The need to recognise that timing was an issue in securing the continuation of a community resource in Garforth

·  To recognise that a business plan would be brought forward in due course

The Chair then invited questions and comments from Board Members be put to Councillors Lamb and Schofield, the Executive Board Member and officers on the evidence submitted.

In summary, the main areas of discussion were:-

·  Clarification of the discussions to date  ...  view the full minutes text for item 166.

In accordance with Scrutiny Board Procedure Rules, to consider the Board’s formal conclusions and recommendation(s) arising from the consideration of the called-in decision.

Following consideration of evidence presented to them, the Board passed the following resolution:-

RESOLVED – That the decision be referred back to the Executive Board on the grounds that there were concerns that the School Partnership Trust (SPT) had not agreed to take on this facility, that there was no business plan submitted to Executive Board as to how the future service delivery at this facility for community use will be delivered, no reference to repair costs that will have to be incurred by the Council under the proposed Heads of Term before SPT take on the repairing obligation and that only a single organisation had been approached with a view to transferring the Council’s asset.

(The meeting concluded at 2.50pm)