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38.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 204 KB

Meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on Tuesday 22 February, 2022

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Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 22 February 2022 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

39.

Members' Declarations of Interest

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point and may also make them at any point during the meeting.

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Minutes:

Councillor L. Clews declared a personal interest in the presentation item as she ran activity sessions at the leisure centre.

40.

Matters Arising Schedule pdf icon PDF 144 KB

Matters arising schedule setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 21 March 2022.

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Minutes:

With one completed item, the Matters Arising schedule was DULY NOTED.

41.

Presentation Item - Leisure Provision and Sports Development

Presentation by Martin Miles and Chris Duncan from Everyone Active.

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Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting Martin Miles, Regional Contract Manager, and Chris Duncan, Regional Wellbeing Manager, from Everyone Active. The Committee heard that their presentation would cover aspects of maintenance and cleanliness at the Gainsborough Leisure Centre, followed by a focus on wellbeing, as well as answering questions that had been shared with them prior to the meeting. Questions from Members after the presentation would be welcomed.

 

Mr Miles explained that the problems described at the Gainsborough Leisure Centre, such as drainage issues in the wet-side changing rooms, had been recognised by the company and there was an agreed list of works and remedial action to begin addressing these areas. A full site inspection had been undertaken, with weekly and monthly walk-arounds also being implemented. It had been necessary to begin a review of suppliers, recognising the preference to use local services but needing to balance that with improving standards which could result in using outside contractors, for example for cleaning and maintenance. The concerns raised by Members, some of whom were Gainsborough residents and detailed their personal experiences of using the swimming pool at the leisure centre, were acknowledged with assurances given that the scheduled repairs, servicing, maintenance and ad hoc works would be prioritised in order to improve the facilities for users. A return visit to the Committee in six months was offered to monitor progress.

 

Members thanked Mr Miles for recognising the areas that needed addressing and for acknowledging the length of time these issues had been raised by residents and users of the pool. It was hoped there would be some significant improvements seen over coming months.

 

The Committee then heard from Mr Duncan who explained that, as the country moved out of pandemic restrictions and into a new ‘post-covid normal’, the focus on overall wellbeing and how to engage with communities had changed somewhat from pre-pandemic expectations. There was a need to work collectively, across healthcare, education, local authorities and leisure providers, to encourage lifestyle behaviours to support longer term health and wellbeing. It was recognised that there was now a holistic view to achieve greater societal wellbeing, with organisations such as the NHS and Sports England starting to shape national strategies.

 

It was explained that, whilst a local Wellbeing Partnership was the aspiration, there was work being undertaken to build a framework which could be used to extend partnership working across the district. Initial engagement was underway with local schools, disabilities groups and care homes, although there were ongoing challenges regarding access to care homes given the continuation of restrictions for them. The Committee also heard there was preparatory work underway with Lincolnshire County Council for improving access to services for care leavers.

 

Members heard that social prescribing had been introduced in January 2022, with a positive start and increasing use of it, as well as link workers based in the leisure centre to look at wider social aspects for service users, such as financial wellbeing. There had been investment into the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

42.

Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 183 KB

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Minutes:

The content of the full Forward Plan for all Committees was NOTED.

 

43.

Committee Workplan pdf icon PDF 7 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The content of the Committee Workplan was NOTED.