4 Strategic Direction of the Service PDF 75 KB
To consider a report on the strategic direction of the Health and Wellbeing Service.
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Minutes:
The Sub-Committee considered a report on the strategic direction of the Health and Wellbeing Service.
The Sub-Committee had considered the final report by the Council’s consultants, PMP Genesis Consulting, on the Cheshire East Leisure Management Options Appraisal at its meeting on 28th January.
Since the consultants’ report had been received, the overall context of the leisure service had been reconsidered, taking into account the potential Building Schools for the Future initiative, changes to how customer services were managed, the need to invest in facilities and rationalise the links to the transformation of Adult services and Children and Families, and the need for closer working with the PCT and other strategic developments in Cheshire East. There was also an interest in making connections between leisure services and other strategic interests of the Council, such as library services.
The Sub-Committee had therefore advised Cabinet not to proceed for now with any further work to progress a Trust as the delivery model, and to place the Consultants’ recommendation on hold while further consideration was given to the wider strategic issues and opportunities identified.
Cabinet had accepted the recommendation of the Sub-Committee and had also resolved that the Sub-Committee be retained but that its terms of reference be developed to encompass wider considerations and aspects of the Health and Wellbeing Service.
The merger in August of the Health and Wellbeing Service with the Adults Service would create a new Directorate known as the Adults, Community Health and Wellbeing Department. As a result, there was a need to review the strategic thinking about the Service and its components individually and as a whole.
Any discussion about the future direction and composition of the Health and Wellbeing Service needed to be framed within the Commissioner/Provider model and the universal-to-targeted continuum (looking to shift more resource towards targeted interventions).
The Service was now developing a leisure strategy that took into account the research from the Consultants’ recent work, the outcomes of the Facilities Improvement Strategy and other opportunities identified.
In this respect, it was noted that the Consultants’ report had acknowledged that the Council ran its leisure facilities well, achieving a high level of satisfaction among users. For this reason it was felt that a Trust approach was no longer the most appropriate way of taking the Service forward.
Members received a welcome pack on the Council’s leisure facilities, together with the performance monitoring report for March 2010. Members felt that the welcome pack managed successfully to harmonise the disparate range of services which the Council provided.
Members were invited to offer suggestions on the future direction of the Service and in doing so had regard to a proposed framework for examining Leisure provision which drew upon the Facilities Improvement work, the outcomes of the Leisure Options Appraisal and the priorities of the draft Corporate Plan.
Members offered a variety of comments and suggestions about the future direction of leisure provision: