Agenda item

Members received a verbal briefing from the Section 151 Officer who stated that he has a statutory responsibility to advise Cabinet members in relation to the financial impacts of the various options being considered today.

As highlighted in the previous Scrutiny Committee in relation to the fact that options A and C could not be delivered within the current £1.5 million base budget available for running indoor leisure services.

It was also reiterated that there were only three ways that a gap in funding could be met as presently there was no identified funding strategy for any costs over and above £1.5 million. The three ways of closing a funding gap were outlined as being one of or a combination of:

•        Identify permanent savings elsewhere in the Council’s       budget

•        Generate additional income or reduce the current cost of running indoor leisure services

•        Increase council tax

The Section 151 Officer advised Cabinet that he needed to ensure that Cabinet fully understood the financial consequences of the various options and to do that the meeting would have to move into private session.

Decisions:

That the work of the Task and Finish Group be noted.

That a decision be made because there is sufficient information on the options to support a decision on the future provision of indoor leisure services as detailed in the circulated report.

Reason for Decisions:

To enable a final, informed decision on the option the Cabinet wish to pursue for the future delivery of indoor leisure services.

Implementation of Decisions:

The decision will be implemented after the three day call in period.