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Executive Members (with Portfolios): Councillors: Anthony Hunt – Leader and Executive Member for Strategic Leadership Richard Clark – Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Children, Families and Education Fiona Cross – Executive Member for Communities David Daniels – Executive Member for Adult Services and Housing Joanne Gauden – Executive Member for Economy, Skills and Regeneration Peter Jones – Executive Member for Corporate Governance and Resources Sue Morgan – Executive Member for Waste and Sustainability Mandy Owen – Executive Member for Environment Officers: Rachel Beale – Personal Assistant to Leader and Deputy Leader Niall Flack - Apprentice Democratic Services Officer Delyth Harries - Monitoring Officer Neil Jones - Head of Comms, Elections & Contingencies Dave Leech - Strategic Director for Adults and Communities Matt Lewis – Chief Operating Officer, SRS Andrew Lovegrove - Strategic Director Resources Stephen Vickers – Chief Executive
2.1 There were no apologies received.
3.1 There were no declarations of interest.
4.1 4.1 The Executive Member for Communities introduced the report and made the following points: · Torfaen Leisure Trust was established as a charitable trust in 2013 with its own governance arrangements. The benefits of establishing a trust was that it was able to apply for grants which were specifically aimed at the charity sector and Charities and Trusts were also able to benefit from national non domestic rates relief of 80% whereas Local Authorities did not. · Sports and leisure had a crucial part to play in delivery the Council’s County Plan and it was important to find the right provider to manage the facilities · In July 2024, Full Council authorised Officers to commence a procurement exercise for leisure services in Torfaen and Cabinet were being asked to consider who should manage Torfaen’s Leisure Services going forward. · Torfaen Leisure Trust had been professional and helpful throughout the process which was really valued and appreciated. 4.2 The Strategic Director Adults & Communities presented the report to Cabinet and highlighted the following key points: · The procurement process invited companies to tender for a 10-year contract, with the potential to extend for a further 5 years on a 2+2+1 basis to provide leisure services in Torfaen which would deliver against the outcomes of the County Plan and Community Wellbeing Strategy. · Tenders were assessed against price (20%), quality (70%) and social value (10%) in parallel to a full pre-qualification process. · Four companies tendered. · Of the four tenders, Company 1 and Company 2 fell below the 60% quality threshold. Company 3 failed to pass the Pre-Qualification stage. Company 4 passed both the pre-qualification stage and received a quality score of 67%. · Officers were recommending that Cabinet award the contract to Company 4, Halo Leisure Services Limited, subject to the conclusion of the standstill period. · Upon contract award, the preferred supplier would commence transitional arrangements with the Council in relation to contract paperwork, building licences and admitted body status with the pension’s authority and with the incumbent provider particularly in relation to TUPE. 4.3 Cabinet asked a number of questions and in response to those questions, the Strategic Director for Adults and Communities gave the following replies: · Halo submitted a significantly stronger tender than some of the other providers. There was a base level to the tender, and it was assumed that all providers would meet that and for a tender to excel beyond that they had to show added value. Halo demonstrated lots of added value including making a particularly strong statement around their risk management and business continuity arrangements, they gave very good evidence to demonstrate how they would build a long term delivery plan which was focussed around investment in facilities, they also gave excellent evidence around how they provided programmes that demonstrated an impact on the full range of county plan and marmot priorities, they showed an exceptional understanding of the target demographic and how their marketing approach would be geared to increasing the usage from the core population, they gave reassurance that they were likely to exceed the minimum requirements around their alignment around more that sport activities and they run programmes called ‘more than gym’, ‘more than a sports centre’ which gave reassurance that they were a community focused provider. · Halo’s tender bid aligned very strongly with the Council’s County Plan. When the tender specification was structured, increased emphasis was placed on delivery of the County Plan objectives, it was important that it was not just a contract, but it would provide clear outcomes for the residents of Torfaen. Their key performance indicators would be aligned to delivering the county plan objectives and this was tied into their contract. · If Cabinet agreed to award the contract to Halo it was an expected that they would be operating from April, however there were contingency arrangements in place until June with Torfaen Leisure Trust should there be any delays around TUPE transfers, pensions or asset occupation. · The workforce was very important and Officers of the Council would be having regular performance meetings with them as part of the commissioning cycle to make sure they were performing against all key elements of the contract and staff training, and development would form part of the monitoring arrangements. · Officers would be discussing with Halo as a matter of urgency the service level agreement in place regarding the Fairwater site. The site was dual use and was jointly operated by Cwmbran High School and the Leisure Provider. There had always been a service level agreement in place and Officers could not see why that would not continue going forward, the agreement would firm up who was responsible for different elements. Halo had given a clear indication that they would want to invest in the Leisure Services so Officers would hope to see clarity in the first few months of what the investment programme would look like. · When Officers were looking at contracts, all options for delivering the service were explored, whether it be bringing in house, procuring a provider or extending existing contracts and that process had been carried out with leisure services. The option to bring leisure services in house was ruled out due to cost and skillset. There was a considerably higher cost for offering the service in house, partly due to rate relief and also the ability to apply for grants and whilst there would be TUPE transfer arrangements in place for staff, that did not take in to account senior management skillsets which were needed to inject the expertise into the sector. There were strong strategic and financial considerations as to why bring leisure services in house was not the recommended option. A notification had been issued to Torfaen Leisure Trust stating that their contract was ceasing, and on the basis a tender process had been undertaken, and Torfaen Leisure Trust were not successful in their tender bid and the contract could not be awarded to them. · The savings members would need to find in order to take the service in house would be considerable. · There was a price component to the tender process, which was based on profit share. Whilst the exact amount formed part of their tender, the Strategic Director confirmed that over 75% of their profits would be returned for Torfaen specific services · The contract set out multiple options for the provider with regard to pensions, it was not a requirement for them to become part of the Local Government Pension Scheme, however if they did not join, they would need to offer staff an equivalent pension scheme to ensure that they were line with regulations. · The Council had allocated HR time to support the TUPE transfer process and Officers would be looking at how to support and reassure the staff. · The Strategic Director stated that he would also write to the Torfaen Leisure Trust Board to communicate the discussions that had taken place today and thank them for the professional way in which they had handled the situation. 4.4 The Executive Member for Communities added that although Halo was a company based in England, they also had a successful presence in Wales. 4.5 Members commented: · That they wanted leisure to be a facilitator of physical activity and wider wellbeing and not just a service for sporty people and Halo seemed to value those aspects. · They were pleased with the tender process and were reassured around the emphasis on quality. · They had researched Halo via their social media and their website, and could see that they receive lots of positive comments from service users and their website showed their values which were at the core of what they did. · If they were to bring the leisure service in house, there would be a pressure on the Council budget and the need to find further savings to accommodate the service on top of those already made. The service the Council could offer would not necessarily be as dynamic as the service Halo as an existing provider could delivery for residents · They welcomed the fact the tender process was based on 70% quality, 10% social value and 20% price and welcome the reassurance that Halo were community focused. · They welcomed their commitment to be a workforce friendly provider and their commitment to retain a social partnership with the Council and Trade Unions. · They thanked Torfaen Leisure Trust for their hard work, and this was not a reflection on them but about getting the best for deal for leisure services and the people using them in the borough. 4.6 Cabinet agreed to: · Award a 10-year contract (with the potential to extend for a further 5 years on a 2+2+1 basis) for Leisure Services as set out in the report to Halo Leisure Services, subject to the conclusion of the standstill period. · Support the admission of Halo Leisure Services to the Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund as an Admitted body via a pass-through agreement with the Council providing the necessary indemnities, as required by the pass-through agreement to the fund. This will enable all eligible TLT staff who transfer to the new provider to retain membership of the LGPS and for eligible new joiners to join the LGPS under the two-tier workforce code of practice noting the implications for underwriting set out in sections 4.4.2 and 7.2.
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