Castle Morpeth

The borough has two leisure centres providing both wet and dry facilities - one in Morpeth and one in Ponteland, both run by LC. 

6.09.09 Morpeth Herald http://www.morpethherald.co.uk/news/Gym-operator-apologises-for-payment.5613369.jp
Gym operator apologises for payment error  by Andrew Coulson    Reproduced in full

ReA WOMAN was charged almost £200 by a Morpeth gym despite leaving it two years ago. Operator Leisure Connection took £184.80 in error from the bank account of Felton resident Carolyn Reynolds after moving to a new database system. She had been a member of Harpers Fitness gym at the Riverside Leisure Centre, but cancelled her membership in September 2007.

The company has apologised for the mistake, which accidentally re-instated her as a current member, and says she was fully refunded on Tuesday, August 25. But Mrs Reynolds is very angry with how the issue has been handled.

"I find it incredible that money has been taken from my account by Leisure Connection when I have not had a business relationship with them for two years," she said. The gym may have been closed for a while because of the flood, but that is no excuse for having a poor data management system that has caused this error. As soon as I was made aware of this I tried to contact someone at the Riverside or from Leisure Connection to discuss the situation, but I did not hear anything until a few weeks later and even then I was told I would have to wait another week for the money to be returned. I don't understand why my details were not removed soon after I cancelled my membership and I have written to them before this incident requesting that they stop sending me letters asking for payment."

The Riverside Leisure Centre was closed because of flood damage last September and re-opened again in February after repair and improvement work by Castle Morpeth Council and Leisure Connection.

A company spokesman said: "Leisure Connection would like to apologise for the delay in handling this particular payment issue. This error has been caused by recent changes to a new database system, but all issues have been quickly resolved and we don't expect to see any further problems. Leisure Connection refunded all monies owed to the customer on Tuesday, August 25 and will also be covering any banking charges incurred due to the error as per company policy. Anyone in the Northumberland County Council area who has a similar problem should contact Leisure Connection's Customer Services Department on 01480 401 328."

Study by Consultants 2007

In 2007 Castle Morpeth Council received a summary report of a study into its contract with LC. This report, presented to the Council in April, was obtained through Freedom of Information but not the original study. The full summary report is available on LCW but here are some extracts copied from it. The only public response as of late September 2007 to the issues identified  by both the consultants and the Audit Commission (see below) are user groups - see next item.

"With the lack of a full set of accounts from 2000 to present day it is not possible to confirm the exact investment by Leisure Connection in repairs, maintenance and decoration. It is clear that over the three year period 2003-06 there is a shortfall in investment and this issue needs to be clarified and addressed with Leisure Connection." p4  

"There are issues with the reporting and the lack of provision of information by Leisure Connection and them failing to fulfil their reporting requirements whilst there has been a failing on the Council’s behalf to utilise the open book policy and to undertake a major role in monitoring Leisure Connection’s performance. Historically there has been a lack of efficiency on behalf of both parties." p4  

From the information PMP was able to get hold of from Leisure Connection it would appear that the company has not been meeting its obligations with regard to Repairs and Maintenance spend as stipulated in the contract. They have also failed to fulfil their reporting requirements and their response times to dealing with problems is painfully slow against their contracted committments. However, the Council has also failed to “undertake a major role in monitoring (and managing) Leisure Connection’s performance.” P5    

"Additionally, the flat trend to the Quest Assessments for both centres “would indicate that both leisure centres are just `ticking over’ and not progressing as well as they should or developing their services. p5  

"Additionally customer comments for both centres reflected maintenance and cleanliness issues." p10

"Consultations were undertaken with Council officers, partners and Leisure Connection. In summary there was agreement from both the Council and Leisure Connection that the partnership had struggled with both sides not investing time and effort into pro-actively managing and monitoring the contract. As a result there has been very little performance management undertaken since the contract commenced in 2000 and a lack of clarity about who is using the centres and their financial performance." P10  

"As a result of the past relationships there is a certain amount of disquiet across the Council and amongst partners concerning Leisure Connection’s management of the two centres. Of particular note include:

	a perceived lack of maintenance and investment
	poor general housekeeping and time taken to address basic faults
	an absence of partnership working and developmental ideas
	poor cross marketing and promotion of services
	a lack of knowledge about who uses the centres and the role and function they play." p10

 "There has been a total lack of reporting by Leisure Connection (although the contract clearly states what reporting is required), absence of the open-book policy referred to in the contract, which has not been pursued by the Council until very recently, limited provision of audited accounts and therefore little or no opportunity for the Council to apply the payment mechanism and explore the issues of profit share." p11

"Maintenance liabilities are clear and Leisure Connection is clearly responsible for internal and external decoration, which in the case of Ponteland appears well over due, which is supported by the user consultation undertaken as part of this study. The Council should be seeing clear costed repair and renewal programmes in line with the Financial Model, which requires Leisure Connection to spend £132,640 per annum on repairs and maintenance and as Table 4.1 demonstrates this has not been the case in the past three years. Although it is unlikely that the Council will have any contractual rights to demand retrospective expenditure it would be fair for the Council to question Leisure Connection on the level of expenditure over the past three years based on the poor decoration (at Ponteland Leisure Centre in particular) and agree a way forward for addressing the poor maintenance and decoration to date." pp11&12

21.9.07 Borough Leisure Centres Are In For A Shake-Up As Users Get A Say In Their Management  Morpeth Herald   Reproduced in Full http://www.morpethherald.co.uk/viewarticle.aspx?sectionid=1119&articleid=3115088        

New user groups will be set up at the Morpeth Riverside and Ponteland facilities following a whole-scale review of operations. The system is designed to improve services and highlight concerns, as well as keep a better check on the management of the centres.

Castle Morpeth Council handed over the day-to-day running of the facilities to Leisure Connection seven years ago, but last year the Audit Commission awarded just one star for the services, rating them 'fair'. The authority commissioned a review of leisure across the Borough to identify areas for improvement and a new action plan, including the creation of user groups, has been drawn up to address the problems.

Council Executive member Glen Sanderson said: "We have decided that there are some areas that need a little more attention. We have held a number of frank discussions with Leisure Connection and drawn up an action plan. That gives us the ability to take action when and where we feel it is necessary. We have a good relationship with Leisure Connection by and large and we are happy to work with the company, however it is important that the public get the services they have a right to expect. As a Council we have to make sure that the service is of the highest standard." Such a good relationship that a "substantial penalty" was imposed - see highlighted text below. The claim also makes no sense in view of the findings listed in the above report. PB

In Morpeth the user group will include representatives from the swimming, basketball and netball clubs, as well as from the GP Referral Scheme, while in Ponteland it will have members of the rugby, football, cricket, swimming and tennis clubs. Each committee will also contain a member of the Sports Council and three councillors from Castle Morpeth. In addition the forums will be able to co-opt extra members. The user groups are just one part of a major improvement plan for the leisure centres that includes systems for better financial reporting, monthly, quarterly and annual meetings, an event log and reports on response times to concerns. It will also feature a schedule for decoration and provision for the Council to inspect maintenance records on demand, as well as a three year maintenance plan.

Coun Joan Tebbutt said: "I am aware of the poor history of the leisure centres so I'm really pleased that these things are happening."

Members of the Executive Board agreed moves to set up the user groups. The first meetings are expected to take place in October.

So what happened after Councillor Proudlock asked for more consultation in 2002? See below. PB

March 2007 Audit Commission's  Annual Audit and Inspection Letter for Castle Morpeth Borough Council - Extracts http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/reports/BVIR.asp?CategoryID=ENGLISH^576^LOCAL-VIEW^AUTHORITIES^101582&ProdID=51302D91-F6F6-4945-AAFD-16954840AE63

"Improvements have been made in previously poor monitoring arrangements of the leisure contract and more challenge is being given to the contractor on performance failure, leading to the imposition of a substantial penalty in January. Consultants undertaking a leisure review are due to report shortly."

"Cultural services are providing a good range of targeted sports and arts initiatives and outreach services for young people. The Castle Woods and Water liveability project has enabled good improvements to the outdoor environment with improved access and facilities for walking and cycling. However satisfaction with maintenance at the Council's leisure centres is low. The service lacks information about non-users of its facilities and so is unable to target services to increase participation."

 August 2006 Audit Commission's  Service Inspection Report Cultural Services for Castle Morpeth Borough Council -- Extracts http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/Products/BVIR/51302D91-F6F6-4945-AAFD-16954840AE63/CastleMorpethCulturalServices03Aug2006REP.pdf  

"The service is not delivering value for money to local residents for services that are delivered through its revenue budget when compared with other district Councils. The Council currently spends 21 per cent of its total revenue budget on cultural services which is close to a typical district council spend of around 20 per cent. The combination of low usage and mostly below average satisfaction in cultural services suggests that, overall, value for money is low. The exception to this is parks and open spaces which although being high cost, are well used and have above average resident satisfaction." 

"The opening hours of facilities are not all responsive to public demand .The opening times of the leisure centres are not convenient for all users; the centres are not open on bank holidays and while opening hours are reasonable, times for public swimming are limited. One of the two leisure centre pools was closed for maintenance during the Easter holidays causing inconvenience to users."

"The Council does not know whether its cultural services routinely provide value for money. The Council has a contract in place with a private sector provider for the management of its leisure centres, but does not know whether this is delivering value for money as contract monitoring has been ineffective."

"The service is a fair, one-star service because:

	there are gaps in the service's understanding of local needs. It is not engaging with minority ethnic communities and does not have information about non-users;
	the quality and usage of indoor leisure facilities is low. Opening hours do not reflect demand;
	access is inconsistent. Not all buildings are accessible to disabled people. Pricing acts as a barrier to access for some groups;
	the impact of projects is not routinely measured so the service does not know whether it is achieving its aims;
	the Council does not have a clear vision for tourism and how this contributes to improving the economic vitality of the area. Marketing of the Council's
	cultural assets is limited;
	best value performance indicators show that satisfaction with sports and leisure is below average and satisfaction with arts activities and museums is amongst the worst in the country; and
	the Council does not know whether cultural services are delivering value for money."