Many councils already commission external providers of sport and leisure services, and others will be looking afresh at this option. Andy Sutch, of Business in Sport and Leisure (BISL) explains how he hopes to see the private sector market grow:
BISL represents the private sector in the growth industry of “sport & leisure” – which includes leisure operators, health and fitness clubs, National Governing Bodies of sport and many of the professional services supporting the sector.
We work alongside organisations such as Sport England, the CCPR, the Local Government Association with IDeA and recently SPORTA. Our long term theme is “growing the market”. A key part of this is of course increasing opportunities for our communities to play sport, to engage in leisure; and sport and physical activity in particular is fundamental to the work of BISL. Participation undoubtedly contributes to quality of life, for individuals and the community.
Adult sports participation still remains low in this country, and there is concern in some areas about the quality and quantity of facilities. But BISL believes that partnership working between the public, private and voluntary sectors is essential. Given the increasingly rigorous controls on public spending we need to share best practice and to seek new and innovative ways of providing and operating leisure facilities. Delivering best value for money has never been more important.
BISL has welcomed the publication of the new draft Planning Policy Statement 17, Planning for a Natural and Healthy Environment. This reinforces the need for local authorities to undertake stringent needs analysis and holistic planning for the provision of new and upgraded sports facilities. These assessments must be followed by rigorous procurement and delivery, if value for money is to be achieved over the whole life of a facility.
In the next few years, in an increasingly difficult financial climate, councils will need to apply this process rigorously, openly and transparently, and there are some excellent examples to draw on from the public, commercial and voluntary sectors.
BISL hopes councils will engage more and more with private sector operators, creating cost effective partnerships to meet community leisure targets, while managing costs over the life of their facilities.
Tags: councils, funding, participation, partnership, sport
