They're the people who run the South Reading Leisure Centre, maybe a mile outside the ward but the nearest leisure centre for many Katesgrove residents. They were handed control four or so years ago by the Council in exchange for a business plan that would reduce the overall cost for the Council, and a refurbishment programme which is now complete.
However, nagging doubts have remained over some ways in which the Centre has been run, and reports about dropping income - particularly from Whitley residents (a concern, partly because Whitley contains some of the most deprived communities in town, partly because part of Katesgrove is north Whitley.) We would like to hear from Academy Sport users of their experiences with the facility - please drop Warren or me an email.
A report to the Council's Culture Scrutiny Panel (Warren is the Vice-Chair), which then went to Cabinet, asked for the Council's annual subsidy to Academy Sport to be increased by £72,000 per year (from a starting level of £56,000). The report did not give clear reasons for the increase, but a table showed a substantial falling away in income, even on figures predating the current economic situation. In particular, general till income from 'casual' use was down by almost a half on the Business Plan figures. I asked various questions about this at Cabinet, but failed to get a clear answer. In particular I wanted to know why the answer (in the middle of the Council's own difficult financial situation) was to up the subsidy, not to look at getting the income back up. (If the answer was that a subsidy was still needed, so be it; but the problem was that nobody knew)
Now any Cabinet decision in Reading is subject to a procedure called 'call-in'. If Councillors have concerns about something Cabinet has decided, they can send it to one of the Scrutiny Panels via the glamorously named CCEA Panel (of which I'm the Vice-Chair), or CCEA can call it in and ask Cabinet to think again. I raised the issue for debate, partly to see whether our concerns were shared, and a Conservative Councillor took up the baton. A motion was tabled (and then refined), and the decision was called in.
The atmosphere was soured by the Labour Deputy Leader of the Council who claimed that I had said nothing at Council, and was merely 'playing games' that could jeopardise the future of the leisure centre. I don't know what has got into the water of some Labour councillors this week - but the claim was utterly false. I've asked him and his leader for an apology for it.
False for two reasons: one, others distinctly recall hearing me ask the questions (perhaps Labour councillors were preoccupied with the Pete Ruhemann issue); second, there is a process for Cabinet decisions that are urgent to be 'fast-tracked' to avoid the month's delay that call-in causes. The Academy Sport decision was not flagged by the officers managing it as an urgent decision.
Anyway, the end result of this will be much greater scrutiny of Academy Sport, which should lead to a better facility for people in South Reading and Katesgrove. It will also be better value for Council Taxpayers - despite the best efforts, unfortunately, of Labour.
