Agenda item

Report attached.

Members considered a report ofCouncillor Noordad Aziz, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Transformation, Education and Skills, in respect of recent executive decisions taken as a matter of urgency where the decisions had been exempted from the Call-In Procedure

Councillor Aziz provided a short introduction to the report and commented that the Council was taking active steps to work with the management team of Hyndburn Leisure.  The first meeting had already taken place and further meetings would be arranged.  Update reports would be provided to Cabinet in due course.

Rule C14 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules set out the provisions allowing for a period of Call-In by members of a relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee, in respect of certain executive decisions.  That Paragraph included the detailed procedures which supported this arrangement.

Paragraph C14(i) stated that the call-in procedure should not apply where the decision being taken by the executive was urgent.  A decision would be urgent if any delay likely to be caused by the call in process would seriously prejudice the Council’s or the public interest.  The record of the decision and notice by which it was made public should state whether in the opinion of the decision making person or body, the decision was an urgent one, and therefore not subject to call-in and the reason for that opinion.  The Mayor would have to agree both that the decision proposed was reasonable in all the circumstances and to it being treated as a matter of urgency prior to the decision being taken.  Provision was also made for consent to be obtained in the absence of the Mayor.

In addition to the above, Paragraph C14(i) stated that decisions taken as a matter of urgency would have to be reported to the next available meeting of the Council, together with the reasons for urgency.  Previously, compliance with this Rule had been actioned by reference to the Cabinet minutes reported to Council, which included a record of any urgent decisions taken.  However, it was considered that this did not fully comply with the requirements of Rule C14(i), with regard to the need to report the reason for urgency to Council.  Accordingly, it had been agreed to strengthen oversight of the use of the urgency procedure (and the disapplication of the Call-In procedure) by providing a more comprehensive update report to Council.

The following urgent executive decisions had been taken within the last reporting period:

(a)       Payment of Grant Funding to Hyndburn Leisure and Conclusion of the Leisure Review

The decision and reason for urgency were as summarised below:

Decision (taken by the Cabinet on 29^th January 2025)

(1)   That Cabinet agrees to pay Hyndburn Leisure the sum of £1,000,000.00 by way of grant to support the provision of community leisure services in the Borough in respect of the period 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025, subject to completion of a grant funding agreement in accordance with Paragraph 3.6 of the report; and

(2)   That Cabinet note the “Leisure Management Options Report” prepared by Max Associates Ltd and attached as Appendix 2 to the report; and

(3)   That Cabinet notes that discussions will now take place between Hyndburn Leisure and the Cabinet to agree a strategy for leisure provision in the Borough going forward and that such discussions will include proposals for a review of Hyndburn Leisure’s structure and operations, together with ways of improving reporting arrangements to the Council in respect of Hyndburn Leisure’s performance and budgetary position.  A further report will be brought to Cabinet in due course once such discussions have concluded.

Reason for Urgency

A subsidy to Hyndburn Leisure in respect of the current financial year is required urgently to provide assurance around its on-going operation, which will enable pricing levels, opening hours and service provision to be maintained at the current level.  This will support the Council’s objective of supporting affordable and locally accessible health and wellbeing provision to help address the health inequalities in the Borough.

Councillor Khan enquired about the reason for the withdrawal of an item to deal with this matter from the meeting of Cabinet on 22^nd January 2025.  Councillor Dad responded that the Cabinet had required more time to consider whether the making of a grant was the right decision, in view the large financial sum involved.  The pause had enabled the Council to consider what measures might be introduced to improve financial reporting by Hyndburn Leisure and to ensure that the Council was made aware of any funding requirements for the next financial year at an early date.  An on-going dialogue was now in pace between the Council and Hyndburn Leisure.

Councillor Paul Cox indicated his support for the payment of the grant, in view of the need to support the health and wellbeing of local residents.  However, he expressed disappointment that engagement with Hyndburn Leisure had been included within the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Work Progamme for 2025/26, but that the matter had been postponed on three separate occasions.  That Committee could have looked at and made recommendations upon the issues in a timely manner.

Resolved                                    -    To note the report on recent executive decisions taken as a matter of urgency.