2021/22 performance review of Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL)

Recommendation

That the Joint Scrutiny Committee considers Greenwich Leisure Limited’s (GLL) performance in delivering the joint leisure management contract for the period 2021/22 and makes any comments before a final assessment on performance is made by Cabinet Members with responsibility for Leisure by way of an individual Cabinet Member Decision for both councils.

Purpose of Report

1. The report and its format are based on the council’s performance review of contractor’s template and considers the performance of GLL in providing the joint leisure management service in South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. This is the seventh report of the joint contract which started on 1 September 2014.

Strategic Objectives

2. The review of GLL helps ensure that the councils achieve their strategic objectives in the following areas:

· South aims to ‘focus on a sustainable recovery that prioritises community well-being and resilience as well as economic prosperity’.

· Vale of White Horse aims to ‘help build and support thriving local communities, where everyone can enjoy the opportunity to live a happy and fulfilling life’ and ‘ensure that our council and our district play their part in tackling the Climate Emergency’.

Background

3. Managing contractor performance is essential for delivering the South and Vale objectives and targets. The council’s leisure services are outsourced meaning the authority has an established process in place of working with contractors to deliver these services. Working jointly with contractors to review performance regularly is essential in delivering high quality services to residents.

4. The councils’ process for managing contractor performance focuses on continuous improvement and action planning. The councils realise that the success of the framework depends on contractors and the councils working together to set and review realistic, jointly agreed, and measurable targets.

5. The overall framework is designed to be:

· a consistent way for the councils to measure contractor performance, to help highlight and resolve operational issues

· flexible enough to suit each contract, including smaller contracts which may not require all elements of the framework

· a step towards managing risk more effectively and improving performance through action planning.

Overview of the Review Framework

6. The review process usually consists of three essential dimensions:

· performance measured against key performance targets (KPTs)

· customer satisfaction with the total service experience

· council satisfaction as client.

7. Each dimension is assessed by officers and the head of service makes a judgement of classification. Contractor feedback and an assessment of strengths and areas for improvement are included. The framework may be adjusted or simplified at the discretion of the head of service, where some dimensions are not relevant or difficult to apply fairly.

8. This contract is the first joint leisure contract and runs from 1 September 2014 until 31 August 2026. The contract extension is part of the GLL Support Package agreed during the pandemic and signed by way of a Deed of Variation on 12 May 2022.

9. GLL provides a comprehensive programme of activities and opportunities for residents and visitors to both districts to enjoy sporting and leisure facilities. GLL operates facilities in Berinsfield, Didcot, Henley, Thame, Wallingford and Wheatley in South Oxfordshire, and Abingdon, Wantage and Faringdon in the Vale within an agreed management contract and a service specification document.

10. The main deliverables within the contract are to:

· increase participation in the council’s leisure facilities and participation outreach programmes

· provide a varied programme of activities to cater for different age groups and preferences.

· provide a minimum income from each of the remaining years of the contract of £127,817.02 (plus Retail Price Index each subsequent year thereafter) to South Oxfordshire which has reduced and £1,309,713.48 (plus Retail Price Index each subsequent year thereafter) to the Vale which has reduced.

11. The figure for South Oxfordshire was reduced from £411,278.76 following contract renegotiations. This was due to the council having to operate the Didcot Wave and Didcot Leisure Centres beyond 2018, when it was anticipated a new leisure centre would have been operational replacing both of those older facilities. This was approved by Cabinet and Council as part of the council’s budget setting process for 2018/19.

12. During Covid-19 the council negotiated with GLL a support package by way of Deed of Variation to alter the existing contract through the impact of the pandemic. Management fee adjustments were supported to enable the continuation of leisure centre provision in the wake of Covid-19. The support package was presented at a confidential Scrutiny meeting held on 27 June for South and 28 June for Vale.

13. The table below shows GLL’s performance for the previous and current year. The scores are as follows:

Performance Dimensions	2020/2021	2021/2022
Key Performance Targets	N/A	N/A
Customer Satisfaction	N/A	Excellent
Council Satisfaction	Weak	Fair
Overall Score	Weak	Good

COVID-19 IMPACT ON CONTRACT PERFORMANCE AND DELIVERY

14. The Covid-19 pandemic continue to impact contract delivery and created a significant economic and financial impact across the whole leisure sector. Ongoing operational restrictions and the reduction of demand in customer confidence due to the changing climate continued to be experienced.

15. The decision was made by the council in March 2021 to provide GLL with financial support resulting from the impact of Covid-19 on the operation of the council’s leisure facilities. Further negotiations were conducted between the council and a final agreement was made by way of a supplementary Deed of Variation to the existing contract early 2022.

16. The agreed support package enabled the continuation of an extended contract with GLL and ensuring all leisure facilities within both South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse could remain open. Removing the risk of any closing of our leisure facilities which have been experienced across the rest of the UK.

17. The re-opening of leisure centres across South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse District Councils reflected a very restricted core offering due to the Covid restrictions that had been enforced. This continued to impact the programme delivery and offering at all leisure centres and preventing some services within the facilities to reopen.

18. The current joint contract allows for a further 3-year contract extension until August 2029 should the council wish to consider discussions at a later stage in the contract delivery.

19. Through the Government Sales, Fees and Charges Compensation Scheme, the councils recovered 75 per cent of 95 per cent of the 2021/2022 management fee payments for the period April – June 2021.

Dimension 1 – Key performance targets (KPT)

20. The impact on the closure and imposed restrictions has significantly affected the delivery of the set KPT’s under Dimension 1. The scoring reflected around the delivery of the KPT’s are all reliant on customers accessing the leisure centres and taking part in the activities on offer without closures or restricted use.

21. Due to the ongoing restrictions imposed by the Government due to the pandemic and furlough of significant staff during an unsettled year it was impossible for Officers to collate data from GLL on the delivery of Dimension 1 during the restrictions set across the whole of the UK.

22. The KPT’s set are agreed each contract delivery year however the reduce capacity set by restrictions during the pandemic has rendered the scoring unachievable due leisure facilities inability to operate in normal conditions. The set criteria for the KPT’s can be seen in the report as a guidance without figures achieved.

23. This contract has fourteen KPTs. These KPTs were compiled in 2013 by a joint working group of scrutiny committee members at the time of drawing up the contract documentation and officers from the leisure and corporate strategy teams. The KPTs consider areas of shared importance to elected members and officers in reporting on the contractor’s performance. The KPTs would be reported to cabinet members and senior officers on a quarterly basis so areas of success and concern can be discussed in a timely way.

24. KPT’s can be set for 2022/23 reporting year to support the leisure industry coming back to normal operations. During the GLL Support Package Officers are using a financial target both for revenue and Profit/Loss accounting. These targets will be agreed within the set KPT’s where other KPT’s cannot be achieved. These KPT’s are 5 and 6 where historic live membership levels remain to allow the target to be set. This is not possible as both Attrition and Average Length of Stay has reset the data back to zero through the loss of live members during the pandemic. As finance performance is critical to the performance of the contract through the negotiations that have taken place it is key to include these targets in any future setting of the performance delivery.

25. The removal of KPT 9 and 10 will take place in 2022/23. After the pandemic the Active Communities Team have been managing the GP referral process. This has seen leisure centres referrals drop significantly where the application was managed by the operator before the pandemic. As these targets are reliant on an external source on numbers it would be unfair to apply a KPT to is delivery when the impact is not in the GLL’s demise to control.

26. To replace KPT’s 9 and 10 is to include the KPT for Social Value calculation. This mechanism of data allows GLL combined with academic research and sector wide benchmarks to determine in monetary terms the value that physical activity within council facilities and programmes is making on the local community. The data will give an insight to the value in community savings generated across four key areas: Health care, Education, Wellbeing and Crime.

27. KPT’s 11, 12 13 will change slightly as the current performance relates to customer usage. As the pandemic has changed this process it would be more viable to relate this directly to consumption reduction supporting both council Climate Action Plan 2022-24 against the data supplied on Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2019/20 with SODC leisure facilities at 46.8 per cent of emissions and VOWHDC leisure facilities at 51.0 per cent. Targets therefore will be set directly at emission savings.

KPT ref	Description of KPT	Target	Performance	Individual KPT rating (excellent, good, fair, weak, or poor)	KPT rating score (excellent = 5, good = 4, fair = 3, weak = 2, poor = 1)
KPT 1	Increased total visits year on year	>3%
KPT 2	Increased total activity visits year on year	>4%
KPT 3	Increased year on year growth of inclusive membership (disabled pre-paid)	>10%
KPT 4	Increased year on year growth of concessionary leisure card holders (pay and play)	>1.5%
KPT 5	Attrition (prepaid memberships only gym, swim etc. not swim school)	<6.5%	REMOVE
KPT 6	Average length of stay, direct debit members (excluding swim school)	> 13mnths	REMOVE
KPT 7	Reduce customer complaints to Councils	<60
KPT 8	Percentage of bookings made online	>70%
KPT 9	Percentage of referrals completing Healthwise programme (GP referral)	>70%	REMOVE
KPT 10	Conversion rate from Healthwise programme to Healthwise membership	>65%	REMOVE
KPT 11	Decreased year on year energy usage (electricity) Kwh per visit	>4%
KPT 12	Decreased year on year energy usage (gas) Kwh per visit	>5%
KPT 13	Decreased year on year energy usage (water) cubic meters per visit	>10%
KPT 14	Annual user satisfaction survey
	Overall “average” KPT performance rating score (arithmetic average)				N/A
	Overall “average” KPT performance (excellent, good, fair, weak, or poor)				N/A

Score	<3.0	3.0 – 3.399	3.4 – 3.899	3.9 – 4.299	4.3 – 5.0
Classification	Poor	Weak	Fair	Good	Excellent

28. Based on this performance, the head of service would make a judgement on KPT performance as not reportable due to the circumstances out of the local authority’s control:

KPT judgement

N/A

Previous KPT judgement for comparison

N/A

Dimension 2 – Customer satisfaction

29. GLL carried out and analysed customer satisfaction surveys during January – March 2022. Details of the questions asked are attached as Annex A of this report.

30. The sample size for this paper-based survey was 841 a decrease from the 1,454 samples achieved in 2019/20. These questions were aligned with GLL’s electronic survey to members however due to the pandemic GLL did not run their annual user survey corporately during this time.

31. Officers felt that whilst there were ongoing contract negotiations with GLL it was important where possible to ensure our residents continued to feedback on the services being provided by our operator, and therefore the request was made for GLL to continue obtaining feedback on the services being provided.

32. GLL has operated an electronic survey using the same questions, but due to the pandemic and reduced operations this survey has not been completed this reporting year. It must be noted that the electronic survey conducted by GLL does not form the basis of the summary scoring for this dimension.

33. GLL has achieved an overall customer satisfaction score in the paper-based survey of 4.42, which is the same achieved in 2019/20 with a lower completion rate. The average of both scores, equates to 4.42. The weaker areas of service identified by this process and the additional comments gathered from the surveys help to form part of the action plan for the year ahead. These are included in Annex B.

34. In addition to the customer satisfaction surveys, officers monitor customer comments received by each facility and those received directly by the council. Any negative comments that could have significant service or safety implications are provided immediately to GLL to ensure that appropriate action is taken. Positive comments especially when related to a named member of the GLL team, are also provided to GLL. In Annex A, there is a breakdown of the number and type of comments received.

35. The number of adverse comments reported to the council has increased when compared to 2020/21. There were 61 in 2021/22 compared to 39 in 2020/21. The number of positive comments has risen from 1 in 2020/21 to 12 in 2021/22. It is clear from the detail found in the table in Annex A that the largest area of customer concern lies with booking issues and cleanliness. The impact of the pandemic placed a great pressure on bookings and advanced payment for activities. Officers have raised concerns over the bookings, and improvements are being made. GLL have made various upgrades to their IT systems which should eliminated these issues going forward.

36. Cleaning comments to GLL have increased compared to the previous year however similar to those received in 2019/20. Most of the cleaning issues were related to Wantage Leisure Centre and detailed in Annex A.

37. GLL’s customer service is directly managed through their Customer Experience Department (CED). GLL are yet to provide a full report detailing the logging of their complaints as part of this process. Officers have raised this as an important request to ensure numbers of direct leisure centre complaints can also be monitored.

38. For reasons of consistency with previous assessments, the following is a guide to the assessment of GLL on customer satisfaction:

Score	<3.0	3.0 – 3.399	3.4 – 3.899	3.9 – 4.299	4.3 – 5.0
Classification	Poor	Weak	Fair	Good	Excellent

39. Based on this performance, the head of service would make a judgement on KPT performance as not reportable due to the circumstances out of the local authority’s control:

Customer satisfaction judgement

Excellent

Previous customer satisfaction judgement for comparison

N/A

Dimension 3 – Council satisfaction

40. Four officers associated with the contract have commented on the council’s satisfaction with the delivery of the contract during 2021/22 – the combined scores are listed in Annex C. A change in the management left the Economic Development & Active Communities Manager unable to mark the reporting year.

41. Unfortunately, officers from the Participation Team in Active Communities were unable to score due to no engagement with GLL during the year and restrictions in place preventing a development in activity.

42. This is now the seventh year in the reporting cycle and both GLL and council officers have continued to develop and make improvements to the delivery of the service.

43. Officers identified that the quality of the relationship and partnership between Council officers and GLL has improved slightly in the reporting year to ‘Fair’. Centre managers and the Partnership managers have had a difficult year with the pandemic either by being placed on furlough or picking up general day to day operation. Officers have continued to find it very difficult to communicate with front line staff during the restrictions however this has improved somewhat with the easing of the conditions around the pandemic.

44. Staff remain very approachable and willing to help in all situations although the speed in which responses are provided have been somewhat lacking. Financial information has been very delayed and the Oxfordshire County Council recharges under the Joint Use Agreements have been very slow. This has been a big frustration for Officers especially when it is a third parties account that needs to be cleared.

45. Monitoring levels been achieved this reporting year with only Didcot Leisure Centre starting back up in September 2021 due to the GLL support package negotiations. The process of auditing went back to unannounced visits given Covid-19 restrictions had eased.

46. Areas for significant improvement has been GLL’s Computer Aided Facility Management System. Officers are continually reporting the lack of repairs and maintenance items being place on the system and reports from their planned preventative maintenance. Officers have had to raise on numerous occasions the lack of use of the system. This has in turn caused more Officer time to question the history of items that need rectification rather than simply viewing an update via the CAFM system

47. The removal of the Facility Management team throughout the pandemic and relying on a Regional Facilities Manager has seen the service of maintenance reporting a concern. Direct responsibility remains with the General Managers on site however on several occasions throughout the reporting year Officers have had to report its lack of use. It has been found items have been added from the Officers audit where the council have highlighted an item to be rectified and not their own.

48. The Customer Experience Department (CED) issues experienced during the 2020/21 performance year have improved significantly. It was noted that GLL have revisited the process of their CED, and services has significantly improved with call handling.

49. The council’s client team carry out performance monitoring visits to ensure that the services provided by GLL are in accordance with the contract agreement. The table in Annex F shows the scores achieved between April 2021 to March 2022 giving an average score throughout the performance year. As monitoring was restricted in the previous year either by Covid restrictions or the announcement of visits it was difficult to quantify the comparison. However, the results for the year only showing a drop in two facilities (Thame Leisure Centre and Wantage Leisure Centre). It must be noted in Annex F that Didcot Leisure Centre was no audited until September 2021. Overall, it has been noticed by Officers an evident improvement has been made to the leisure centres and this is reflected in the scoring achieved by those facilities.

50. As part of the contract there has been a significant investment to the reduction of the leisure centres’ carbon footprints and to reduce energy consumption. In the reporting year GLL and the council introduced LED lighting at Abbey Sports Centre and Henley Leisure Centre sports halls. Upgrade also seen at Henley Leisure Centre swimming pool from halogen to LED. Further improvements will be reported in the future reporting year with the completion of the Faringdon Leisure Centre Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme upgrades to Air Source Heat Pumps and Photovoltaic cells.

51. GLL’s community team are re-engaging with Active Communities Participation Team since the pandemic and currently looking at opportunities to engage with partnership working. The 2022/23 report will feedback on this delivery since the GLL support package agreement.

52. Based on GLL’s performance, an overall council satisfaction rating of 3.45 has been achieved increasing slightly from 3.15 in the previous year. An analysis of council satisfaction can be found in Annex C.

This places GLL’s score into the category of Fair for this year’s performance.

53. For reasons of consistency with previous assessments, and for fairness between contractors, the following is a rough guide to the assessment of contractors on customer satisfaction:

Score	<3.0	3.0 – 3.399	3.4 – 3.899	3.9 – 4.299	4.3 – 5.0
Classification	Poor	Weak	Fair	Good	Excellent

54. Based on this performance, the head of service has made a judgement on council satisfaction as follows:

Council satisfaction judgement

Fair

Previous council satisfaction judgement for comparison

Weak

Overall assessment

55. It must be noted that the delivery of Dimension 1 has not been possible due to circumstances out of GLL’s control and for Officers to deliver. Whilst a consideration should be taken to scoring the overall Scrutiny year it must be noted that all mechanisms available to Officers could not be scored because of the pandemic.

56. Considering the performance of the contractor against KPT, customer satisfaction, council satisfaction and the other areas of note above the head of service has made an overall judgement as follows:

Council overall satisfaction judgement

Good

Previous overall assessment for comparison

Weak

Strengths and areas for improvement

57. The following highlights the strengths and areas for improvement relating to the performance of the contractor over the last year:

Strengths

· GLL’s approach to return to the ‘norm’ after the pandemic is commendable and the desire get back to a new and improved operation is evident.

· General Managers and Partnership Managers remain very approachable and willing to help in all situations

· GLL’s frontline team work well with Officers and always support their work where required. This includes making any adjustments to general operational working.

· Teams continue to work well to deliver joint projects including major works especially on carbon reducing schemes and building projects

Areas for improvement

· Timely receipt of finances to enable Officers to track the Open Book accounts against the Transition Plan supplied as part of the Support Package.

· Quarterly tracking of the Joint Use Agreement operational cost to enable Oxfordshire County Council to account for their costs.

· GLL centre teams identifying issues in centres rather than the client team providing work lists and the control in use of the CAFM system. Using the system as a live faults system.

· Use of the CAFM system in generating up to date service reports from GLL’s main contractors so Officers are aware of any immediate faults in their assets.

58. We have worked with GLL to develop an action plan to address areas for improvement. The action plan is attached as Annex B and will be delivered in 2022/2023.

Contractor’s feedback

59. A key feature of the process for reviewing the performance of contractors is that the council provides them with an opportunity to give their feedback on the assessment, including suggestions for improvements to council processes. This is included in Annex E attached to this report.

Financial implications

60. Faringdon Astro Turf Pitch (ATP) has continued to be delayed in its delivery which has impacted the revenue delivery of the GLL contract and council revenue. Discussions between Property Surveyors and OCC continue to agree the Heads of Terms to allow the project to proceed.

61. The financial implications of its delay in delivery against the Invitation to Submit Final Tender are agreed as part of the overall GLL support package taken to council in March 2021.

62. Quarterly Joint Advisory Boards have recommenced since the GLL Support Package agreement, and summary presentations from GLL on their financial position against their Transition Plan will be delivered.

63. Annual Scrutiny reviews from 2022/23 will involve a closed session whereby the financial accounts for the performance year will be presented to councillors based on the Transition Plan submitted as part of the agreed GLL Support Package.

64. Since the GLL Support Package has been agreed energy prices have been rising at an unprecedented rate, members of the public, government, councils, and business are all feeling the impact. The estimated impact over 2022 for GLL is £992,879 increase in utilities between 2019 and 2022 across both South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse leisure centres. 80 per cent of the energy costs being related to the operation of swimming pools in leisure centres.

65. Officers are working closely with GLL to support with reducing this impact as much as possible with various carbon reduction projects. It is hoped that there will be further grants from the Government in the near future to enable Officers to apply for funding to support reducing the burden of these costs as much as possible.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

66. A reminder that the Deed of Variation provides the contractual legal framework for the support package and means through which the Councils would enforce the terms upon GLL. The Deed of Variation has been signed to make the legal obligations of both parties as clear as possible to mitigate against future disputes on these matters and facilitate the continued delivery of the services.

67. On 29 October 2020, GLL presented officers with a Transition Plan which focused on a package of operational and contractual changes to streamline services and reduce overheads and operating costs. The Transition Plan is the focus point of financial delivery for the remainder of the existing contract. Officers will be regularly reporting back on GLL’s current financial performance against the Transition Plan supplied.

Conclusion

68. The contract dealt with more than 2.2 million visits prior to the pandemic each year at its peak. GLL are seeing some positive return rates at some centres as much as 80-85 per cent. A particular noticeable return is at Didcot Wave Leisure Centre where numbers are currently standing at 110 per cent. The closure of Swindon Oasis and the improvements made on site by both GLL, and the Council has had a very positive impact on the visiting public.

69. The variety and complexity of the services provided by GLL demonstrate the size and scale of the task to meet thousands of customer needs and expectations. The impact of Covid-19 has decimated this position however GLL continue to strive to achieve a pre-pandemic position of visitor numbers. The return numbers will be part of performance reporting from 2022/23 onwards.

70. With the recent changes the pandemic leaves the contract in a difficult position when establishing measurable outcomes. Officers are reflecting on the scoring by tracking data supplied by GLL and reviewing during Operational Meetings.

71. Considering the performance of the contractor unable to report on KPT’s. The only measurable dimensions are Dimension 2 and Dimension 3, the head of service has made an overall judgement based on GLL achieving a ‘Good’.

72. The head of service has assessed GLLs overall performance as ‘Good’ for its delivery of the leisure management contract for 2021/22. The committee is asked to make any comments to the Cabinet Members with responsibility for leisure to enable them to make a final assessment on performance by way of an individual Cabinet Member Decision, and to take into account the circumstances by way of how difficult the delivery of the contract was for this reporting Scrutiny year.

73. If the committee does not agree with the head of service assessment, then this report will be referred to Cabinet and a final assessment of GLLs performance made.

Annex A – Customer satisfaction

			Overall
ACCESS
1		Ease of getting through on telephone	3.94
2		Time Spent at Reception	4.40
3		Ease of booking and paying at reception	4.47
4		Ease of booking and paying online	4.44
5		Range of activities available	4.40
6		Opening Hours of centre	4.47
7		Times activities are available	4.40
8		Ease of Parking	4.42
9		If Fast track pods were available, how useful were they	4.64
FACILITIES / SERVICES
10	Availability of product information		4.34
11	Quality of available information on websites		4.33
12	Quality of customer information available		4.41
13	Water quality of pool		4.54
14	Quality of temperature of pool and pool hall		4.40
15	Quality and range of activity equipment available		4.54
16	Quality of lighting in activity area		4.52
17	Quality of flooring in activity area		4.42
18	Quality of artificial turf pitches		4.48
19	Quality and range of clothing and equipment available		4.34
FOOD / DRINK
20	Range available		4.00
21	Quality available		4.00
22	Value for money		4.00
23	Reliability of service		5.00
CLEANLINESS
24	Changing Facilities		4.45
25	Toilet Facilities		4.44
26	Activity Area		4.46
27	Café area if applicable		4.63
28		Reception Area	4.47
29		Cleanliness of inside of centre as a whole	4.50
30		Cleanliness of outside of centre as a whole	4.43
CENTRE STAFF
31	Visibility of professional, well presented, and uniformed staff		4.49
32	Helpfulness and knowledge of staff		4.47
33	Motivation and enthusiasm of coach/instructor		4.45
34	If staff were available, were they able to assist you fully		4.45
VALUE FOR MONEY
35	Value for money of activities		4.38
36	Overall satisfaction with your visit today		4.56
Average Score			4.42

There has been no report provided by GLL on the customer satisfaction. The service delivery changed to a Customer Experience Department (CED) led by GLL Head Office. All direct enquiries and complaints have been handled via this service and removed from the leisure centre operation.

Feedback received directly by the councils

Type of Complaint	TOTAL
Cleanliness	10
Communication (website/phones)	9
Membership issues	4
Staff	2
Noise	9
Booking issues	15
R&M	5
Misc. - complaint on numerous issues	1
Late opening / opening times	5
Safeguarding	1
TOTAL	61

Positive Comments	TOTAL
Staff	11
Facility	1
TOTAL	12

In 2021/22 the number of complaints made to the councils totalled 61 and the compliments received by the councils numbered 12. A comparison of this is 2020/21 reporting year there were 39 complaints and 1 compliment. In comparison 2019/20 the council received 52 complaints and 3 compliments as a comparison. The leisure centres were open from 12 April 2021 and Didcot Leisure Centre and Abbey Sports Centre swimming pool opened in September 2021.

18 of the complaints were made about Wantage Leisure Centre with a majority being about cleanliness. Officers issued a Warning Notice on 7 April 2022 as this was reciprocated with a drop in audit scores during the performance period.

The positive news is compliments were at their highest in 2021/22 reporting year seeing 10 compliments being made specifically at Riverside Outdoor Pool, Splash Pad and Campsite.

Five years ago, GLL introduced a new customer feedback mechanism called Listen 360 which encourage customers to feedback on their whole experience. Unfortunately, this has been removed as a service with no current intention on its return. Whilst this is not contractual this service did assist with immediate feedback from customers. This service did encourage customers to actively feedback on their experiences which allows leisure centres teams to deal with issues in a proactive manor. The number of complaints to the councils has increased and could be an indicator due to its removal.

Annex B – Action plan for 2022/23

Action	Owner	Due date
Refurbish changing rooms and sports hall floor at Abbey Sports Centre	Council	2022/23
Refurbishment of the campsite changing rooms at Riverside, Wallingford	Council	2022/23
WHLTC upgrade of pool lighting and car park to LED	GLL/Council	2022/23
WHLTC dry side disabled ramp and changing places facility to the Sports Hall	Council	2022/23
Replace the splash pad and associated plant at Riverside, Wallingford	Council	2022/23
Replace gym equipment at Henley Leisure Centre	GLL/Council	2022/23
Replace gym equipment at Didcot Wave Leisure Centre	GLL/Council	2022/23
Upgrade Wantage Leisure Centre swimming pool lights to LED	Council	2022/23
Improve Identification of maintenance issues in every centre and PPM schedules	GLL	Immediate
Improve Access Control Security at White Horse LC	GLL/Council	2022/23
Improved Access Control Security at Didcot Wave Leisure Centre and Thame Leisure Centre	GLL	2022/23
Replace the Henley Leisure Centre sauna and steam room	Council	2022/23
Replacement of both Combined Heat and Power units at Thame Leisure Centre and WHLTC	Council	2022/23

Action Plan Outcomes for 2021/22

Action	Owner	Due date	Update
Refurbish changing rooms and sports hall floor at Abbey Sports Centre	Council	2021/22	Awaiting legal approval for the works to proceed with OCC consent
Replace gas boiler system at Faringdon LC with ASHP’s and Solar PV	Council	2021/22	Due to complete August 2022
WHLTC upgrade of pool lighting to LED	GLL/Council	2021/22	Works commence 25 July 2022
WHLTC dry side disabled ramp and changing places facility to the Sports Hall	Council	2021/22	Alternative design being arranged due to the complexities of installation and loss of space.
Replace gym flooring at Didcot Wave	Council	2021/22	Completed
Improved communication to residents via social media/website and direct contact through enquiries and phone calls	GLL	Immediate	Ongoing
Improve Identification of maintenance and issues in every centre	GLL	Immediate	Ongoing – Identification of maintenance still a concern in reporting
Improve Access Control Security at White Horse LC	GLL/Council	2021/22	Awaiting specifications from GLL on the concept of the project
Upgrade Sports Hall lighting to LED Abbey SC and Henley LC	Council	2021/22	Completed
Refurbish Didcot Wave filters	Council	2021/22	Completed

Annex C – Council Satisfaction for 2020/21

This assessment allows the council (as a client) to record its own satisfaction with aspects of a contractor’s performance which lie outside Key Performance Targets and customer satisfaction. Each officer with direct knowledge and who frequently interacts with the contractor should complete this form. Some questions can be left blank if the officer does not have direct knowledge of that question.

The numbers indicated in the following table are the average scores resulting from the total number of responses received for each question

Contractor

GLL

From (date)

1 April 2021

31 March 2022

Service delivery

	Attribute	(5) Very satisfied	(4) Satisfied	(3) Neither	(2) Dis-satisfied	(1) Very dissatisfied

1	Understanding of the client's needs			3.50

2	Response time			3.00

3	Delivers to time			3.00
			4
4	Delivers to budget		4.00

5	Efficiency of invoicing				2.00

6	Approach to health & safety			3.75

Communications and relations

	Attribute	(5) Very satisfied	(4) Satisfied	(3) Neither	(2) Dis-satisfied	(1) Very dissatisfied


7	Easy to deal with		4.00

8	Communication/Keeping Client Informed			3.25

9	Quality of written documentation		4.00

10	Compliance with council’s corporate identity			3.67

Improvement and innovation

	Attribute	(5) Very satisfied	(4) Satisfied	(3) Neither	(2) Dis-satisfied	(1) Very dissatisfied

11	Listening			3.67

12	Quality of relationship			3.20

13	Offers suggestions beyond the scope of work			3.33

14	Degree of innovation			3.67

15	Goes the extra mile		4.00

16 17 18	Supports the council’s sustainability objectives Supports the council’s equality objectives Degree of partnership working		4.00	3.50	2.25

The following table details all the scores obtained from officers to provide the council satisfaction based on the fully completed questionnaires

Rating	Votes	Score equivalent	Total
Very satisfied	1	X5	5
Satisfied	26	X4	104
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	22	X3	66
Dissatisfied	4	X2	8
Very dissatisfied	0	X1	0

Total	53		183

The overall council satisfaction is calculated as follows: 183 ÷ 53 = 3.45 (refers to point 56 and 57 in the report)

Key documents

If required, has the contractor provided the council with annual updates of the following documents?


1.	Updated equalities information (Yes)

2.	Updated utility information (Yes)

3. Updated WAM information (Yes)

4. Updated and signed financial accounts (Yes)

Annex D – Community Activities

September 2021

Swimathon 2021

During the weekend of 10^th – 12^th September swimming pools across South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse took part in Swimathon, the world’s biggest fundraising swim!

Post Covid the centres saw a drop off in normal numbers which is to be expected. Details below:

16 individuals and 12 teams took part across the two partnerships
Swimming pools taking part: White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre, Faringdon Leisure Centre, Wantage Leisure Centre and Didcot Wave Leisure Pool and Gym
Staff teams taking part and an appearance from Better Man.

June 2022

GSF Awards South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse

The GSF Applications opened for 2022-2023 and the following awards were made:

South Oxfordshire:

Total: 84 funded athletes,

Vale Of White Horse:

Total: 60 funded athletes.

The awards included free access to facilities and some financial funding.

The plan is for the awards ceremony to return fully in September 2022.

UKactive Awards August 2021

White Horse Leisure & Tennis Centre were entered into the following category for the UK Active Awards:

· Inclusion and Disability Award

· The centre was awarded a Highly Commended status from this.

August 2021

I am Team GB Open Day August White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre

Inspired by the achievements of Team GB athletes and the amazing efforts of local community heroes, I Am Team GB has created the Nation’s Biggest Sports Day, which took place. With numerous free activities in the centre.

Quest

Following the pandemic Quest has been re-introduced and the following centres have undergone the Recovery Assessment and maintained their previous ratings.

· The White Horse Leisure & Tennis Centre: Excellent

· Faringdon Leisure Centre: Very Good

· Henley Leisure Centre: Very Good.

Oxfordshire Lawn Tennis Association Awards 2022

· Sue Auger was awarded the Oxfordshire Disability Programming Award.

· This was awarded due to the diverse and inclusive tennis programme, sessions include (Wheelchair tennis, Walking Tennis, Visual Impairment Tennis & Downs Syndrome tennis).

Media & PR

· Outdoor Fitness Classes launched March 29^th, 2021-Piece on local BBC South News & Channel 4 News,

· BBC Radio Oxford –Restart 3 Launch Day Interview, Indoor Fitness Classes returning, May 2022, Learn to swim week interview, Adam Balls Fitness Journey, (Summer 2021),

· Channel 4 Paralympic Coverage- Jordanne Whilley (Summer 2021), Swimathon, I Am Team GB, Covid Vaccination Scheme, Summer Olympic Games, Give a Gift Appeal (Multiple sites and interviews), GLL Sports Foundation.

· Lido Ladies visit to Abbey Meadows.

Spennylympics: Summer 2021

· Home to Spennylympics. Provided free access to the facilities for training for their challenge of competing in every Olympic Sport in the Olympic Games,

· Significant media coverage on BBC 6pm News, Japanese TV, CBS News, BBC South News and many more.

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Didcot Refugee Swim and Sport Sessions – October 2021

In October 2021 Long Wittenham CofE Primary School were approached by Oxfordshire County Council Admissions asking if they would accept some refugees to join classes for the new term.

There are 100 Afghan Refugees currently living outside Didcot, as part of the curriculum they have included 7 of their children in the weekly swimming lessons that the school attend at Didcot Wave.

The swim teachers were briefed prior to the lessons starting and all of them were keen to help integrate the children into swimming lessons.

It was the first time some of the children had experienced swimming in a leisure pool, but they all enjoyed the experience.

Marketing Campaign

County wide marketing campaign (attached) running throughout January & February including Bus Stops, Roadside & Supermarket advertising utilising Display Screens targeting every Better centre throughout Oxfordshire.

Ø Locations include Abingdon, Wantage, Faringdon, Thame, Didcot, Henley, Windrush, Carterton and Chipping Norton

Ø Supermarkets featured included Waitrose, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s with Display Screens throughout Westgate Oxford shopping mall.

Ø Online and print media campaigns carried out within Round&About & Primary Times magazines plus online NetMums and Daysoutwiththekids.

Ø High visibility shopfront marketing in place across all 7 centres with effective use of roadside banners, storm boards and flags to signpost customers to venue locations.

Ø Bespoke Sky TV advertising campaign started 1st Feb – 28th Feb filmed on location at White Horse, Carterton & Thame Leisure Centres – providing H&F and L&C adverts across all Sky/Virgin Channels with additional social media cuts to allow targeted campaigns to be

delivered locally.

January – March 2022 Marketing

BBC Radio Oxford-Give a Gift Campaign – January 2022

GLL leisure centres across Oxfordshire, in the Vale of White Horse, and South Oxfordshire have all come together to support BBC Radio Oxford’s Give a Gift Appeal.

The campaign which ran from Boxing Day until Monday 17^th January was collecting unwanted Christmas gifts from across the county to raise money for children in need. The centres in Oxfordshire acted as collection points for the residents to donate their unwanted Christmas presents. Every shape, size and possible gift were donated to the appeal which saw centres receive good levels of donations with over 350 coming into The White Horse alone. The donations will be sold in aid of children in need in Templars Square, Oxford in February. Of the 16 collection points in Oxfordshire, Better were 11 of them.

The appeal drove non-members into our centres for the first time and has led to members of The BBC Team now joining their closest Better leisure centre after visiting them for this campaign.

It has led to significant additional free coverage of our brand at the start of a key period with both airtime and coverage on Radio Oxford’s social media channels.

Significant PR coverage was gained by a combination of live outdoor broadcasts and prerecords.

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Aqua Coffee Launch – February 2022

Didcot Wave launched a new hot drink offering by inviting 50 participants of the weekly aqua aerobics class to trial and launch the instant coffee option, feedback has been fantastic with participants pre-ordering drinks weeks in advance.

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Annex E - Contractor 360° feedback

Contractor’s reaction / feedback on Council’s assessment

GLL believes that the Overall Score should not be applied for any period where ALL three Dimensions can not be scored for the year in full, in order to ensure a fair balanced result is achieved.

Dimension 1 – KPT’s

Not scored – Discussions around future KPT’s are ongoing.

Dimension 2 – Customer Satisfaction

GLL is proud of the overall score of “Excellence” with the average of 4.42. This was especially pleasing in light of the changes enforced on GLL during the period of government restrictions, and we are confident GLL can continue to improve our customers experience going forward.

Dimension 3 – Council Satisfaction

GLL is pleased that the council have acknowledged the improvements within the Customer Experience Department resulting in improved call handing and that the developments to the website and Better App have reduced complaints and has been resolved as a concern to council.

We were surprised to note that officers found it very difficult to communicate with front line staff during the restrictions. GLL has worked hard to ensure that its management teams are customer facing to support service improvements and centre / general managers remained working in periods of lockdown to support in the operation of joint use facilities which remained open throughout for education purposes.

GLL is pleased to see Facility Inspection scores improve, especially in light of the periods of enforced closure and many service contractors taking advantage of government furlough schemes which resulted in a backlog of servicing requirements and additional reactive maintenance tasks required in this year which GLL have fulfilled.

Whilst officers have cited frustrations around financial information being very delayed, especially OCC joint use accounts. GLL would like to highlight the additional complexities around the joint use facilities remaining open throughout lockdowns and that these accounts were submitted within a reasonable timescale following closure of year end accounts which were slightly delayed due to reconciling CJRS Scheme claims.

GLL is pleased that council believes that the relationship continues to improve during what has been challenging times for all parties involved and we continue to look forward to building the relationship further.

Feedback provided by

Luke Askew & Kevin Williams

Date

25.08.22

Annex F – Client Monitoring Scores

	Contract Year 7
	2021/2022
CENTRES	Client Monitoring	Client Monitoring	Variance
CENTRES	Apr-21	Apr-22	Variance
Abbey SC	85.2%	93.9%	8.7%

Didcot LC	87.6%	90.7%	3.1%	DLC re-opened from lockdown in Sept 2021

Wave	90.0%	96.5%	6.5%

Henley LC	84.4%	94.9%	10.5%

Park SC	86.8%	91.0%	4.2%

Thame LC	93%	92.7%	-0.3%

Faringdon LC	88%	93.5%	5.5%

Wantage LC	90.4%	86.8%	-3.6%

WHLTC	88.9%	91.8%	2.9%

	Jul-21	Aug-21
Abbey Meadows	94.4%	98.6%	4.2%

	Jun-21	Aug-21
Riverside	91.8%	91.8%	0.0%