WARRINGTON Borough Council has confirmed insourcing services from leisure and lifestyles provider LifeWire is the “preferred option” despite further criticism from opposition Tories.
The decision is set to be rubber stamped at next Monday’s meeting of the Cabinet.
It follows what Tory leader Cllr. Nigel Balding described as a “damning assessment” by the Competition and Markets Authority of the council’s proposals to subsidise LiveWire
He says the Labour Cabinet is about to U-turn on its own decision in January to subsidise LiveWire by £4,828,000 this year, stating that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which oversees all such subsidies nationally, has advised that the council’s subsidy assessment is contradictory and incomplete.
Cllr Baldwin says that instead of making this “huge, and probably ongoing, subsidy” to LiveWire Community Interest Company, the council is now planning to bring the services in-house.
The opposition Tories say the council has still has not done the groundwork necessary to be clear on the restructuring changes about to be proposed. They are also questioning whether the council is best able to efficiently run some of the many different operations within the LiveWire conglomeration, such as gyms and fitness classes.
Cllr. Balding said: “WBC is in a huge mess over supporting leisure services across Warrington. Over the last few years leisure services have cost residents more and more money in subsidies, whilst at the same time service provision across the borough is patchy and inefficient.”
“Warrington Labour seem incapable of consulting with staff or residents. Neither do they seem capable of properly assessing the needs or market across the borough. The council should be clear about costs for different leisure services and where in the borough our money is being spent. This should be cross-checked with alternative providers and the needs of our different communities.”
“The report from the Competition and Markets authority has not been a surprise to those of us who criticised Cabinet in January and challenged their decision. It turns out that Cabinet’s decision was made without the necessary information, and it can’t be implemented, just as we said at the time.”
“As leaked to the press in June, WBC has U-turned and is now planning to bring LiveWire services back into the council. Our Labour Cabinet is set to rubber-stamp this new decision on 10 July, but unfortunately Cabinet members are still not considering the problem in a logical way.”
“Residents in areas like the south or east of Warrington are unhappy about council-owned leisure facilities that have been closed or are in urgent need of replacement. Having wasted six months on the last plan, Labour councillors are now risking further dither and delay whilst leisure services are left in uncertainty, providing poor value for most residents.”
A Warrington Borough Council spokesperson said: “The council carried out an options analysis, with external support, prior to the subsidy compliance review process.
“Completing this process has allowed the council to clearly determine that insourcing services is now the preferred option, noting that a procurement test to the open market will also be carried out to ensure insourcing is the best value approach prior to the insourcing process being completed.
1 Comment
Once again another sham decision by Russ Bowden and his team.
WBC love wasting the resident tax payers money.
Time to go Bowden and Co
Roll on next year’s election