Agenda item

Consider Overview and Q3 Performance Reports.  (Attached.)

8.1     There had been circulated a presentation by Ewan Jackson, Chief Executive Live Borders the purpose of which was to inform members of the charity’s vision, mission, purpose and values. An overview of the services offered and associated location map of their 60+ venues was provided and comprised gyms/fitness centres, swimming pools, sports pitches/halls, libraries, museums, visitor attractions, town halls and community centres across the region.  The six strategic goals for 2018-2023 were outlined: expand participation levels; grow earned income; develop new funding streams; great customer service; ensure the charity is sustainable; and nurture employees and instil pride in their role.  Delivery of these strategic goals had been adversely affected by the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and a significant increase in energy costs.  The 2022/23 operating context was one of continued recovery from the impact of Covid-19 with a focus on revenue generation and programming for the future.  Performance was monitored via a number of Key Strategic Indicators (KSI) which aligned to the Strategic Goals.  These were detailed in the Service Provision Arrangement (SPA) between Live Borders and Scottish Borders Council and were reported on a quarterly basis together with the Financial KSIs.  As agreed with SBC, KSIs 7 and 17 were no longer reported.

8.2     Live Borders had a number of key external partners with whom services were developed to serve the communities; sportscotland; Creative Scotland; SOSE; Scottish Borders College among others. A number of these partners not only provided funding but also supported the delivery and improvement of existing services and the development of new ones.

8.3     Governance of Live Borders was provided by the combination of the Board of Trustees/Directors and by the Service Provision Agreement (SPA) held with SBC which consisted of meetings attended by both parties, and additional SBC sub-committee meetings at which Live Borders were attendees. An interim structure had been put in place at the end of September 2022 following the departures of Director of Business Services, Director of Operations and Director of Commercial Services.  A permanent structure was to be in place from April1 2023 and comprised of Chief Executive Officer with responsibility for the three Sports, Culture and Communities clusters, Chief Operating Officer and Strategic Programmes Manager.

8.4     A summary of each service was provided with an overview of each one and their key achievements, deliverables and statistics: leisure centres and swimming pools; sports development; sports events and festivals; museums, galleries and archives; Jim Clark Motorsport Museum; libraries; Active Schools; Health Development; Creative Communities; Town Halls; Community Centres; Heart of Hawick; and the Great Tapestry of Scotland (GTOS).

8.5     Mr Jackson proposed to bring a Briefing Note back to the Monitoring Group which outlined the operational performances across libraries, cultural locations and swimming pools in detail at the end of the financial year, and thus provided a full year of information to be considered.

8.6     There had been circulated copies of Performance Indicators & Trends for Quarter 3 FY2022/23.  The financial year 2022/23 was the first year of delivery of all services and activities following the lifting of the pandemic restrictions.  Current industry analysis suggested that it would be around 5 years for participation levels to return to pre-Covid levels. Participation had indeed not returned to pre-Covid levels and measures were to be introduced to address this – a review of opening hours and the promotion of a ‘Freedom Pass’ as an alternative to a Direct Debit scheme.  Work was ongoing to reopen the eight closed museums and galleries after their winter closure.  In the face of rising inflation, energy costs and the cost of living crisis, measures were being taken to reduce energy consumption though there were limits to the mitigating actions.  During FY2021/22 performance was gauged by Directors ‘best estimate’ and performance reporting for FY2022/23 was reset against targets agreed at February 2022 Live Borders Board meeting.  Appendix 1 provided a RAG status for the quarter 3 performance up to 31 December 2022, with 12 Key Strategic Indicators (KSIs) rated green, 3 KSIs rated amber and 2 KSIs rated red (membership/participation and net promoter score/customer satisfaction).  The annual forecast reported KSI RAG status as follows: 10 green, 4 amber and 3 red.  In terms of amber status, Sport Active membership levels were reported to have increased post-Covid, however the challenges from competition on cost and ongoing cost of living pressures experienced by the public were contributory factors to the risk of not meeting the KSI target by the end of 2022/23 financial year.  The closure of Peebles Swimming Pool for refurbishment following the fire had negatively impacted turnover resulting in Learn 2 Swim membership not meeting its expected annual target.  In terms of red status, net promoter score/customer satisfaction was the lowest ever recorded, however quarter 4 data pointed to a slight improvement. Membership levels were growing but targets would not be met by the end of 2022/23 financial year.  Appendix 2 provided a detailed summary of visitors across the cultural facilities and activities during quarter 3, 2022/23.  The majority of venue/activity visitors had exceeded targets set. The number of library visitors was particularly high at 64,032 against a target of 37,500.  The Great Tapestry of Scotland (GTOS) number of 4,268 had not achieved the 7,384 target that had been set before the Cost of Living crisis.  Appendix 3 outlined operational performance during quarter 3 2022/23 across the services, apart from the GTOS which had been covered in a separate report.  Successes were realised across the services: in the Learn2Swim program saw a return to 94.9% of pre-Covid membership levels; new ‘Emerging’ and ‘Aspiring’ squads had been added to the hockey development programme with a weekly participation level of 175 players; Pressreader awareness and popularity continued to grow with new magazines in the Top 10 that potentially pointed to a new user demographic; museums had a high NPS score of 43 as a result of staff training in customer service excellence.  Appendix 4 detailed a number of case studies which included Active Schools and Eyemouth Gateway to Health.

8.7     The work of the Sports Development Team was highlighted; the small team had a wide reach and had been involved much of the region’s events, classes, coaching and referee and umpire training opportunities.   An update on a number of the Strategic Goals was requested: programmes for older people; a +£10k sponsorship package; 15% reduction in energy and carbon emissions; office consolidation; and volunteer policy development.  Further comparative information was requested for pre-Covid library visitor numbers along with their opening times in 2019.  A review of the opening times of swimming pools was requested with a view to maximising opportunities for increased income.  Mr Jackson agreed to bring an update of the Strategic Goals to the next meeting on completion of the financial year.  It was reported that library membership had increased despite a reduction in opening hours (230 hours pre-Covid against 130 hours currently). BorrowBox and Pressreader digital platforms and Connect & Collect had allowed the public to use the library service without the need for travel to the premises.  A comparison of library data pre and post Covid was to be included in the end of year report.  Library use had been promoted via the Registrars with an invitation to join the library offered on registration of a birth. Swimming pool opening hours had been affected by staff shortages.  Data showed that family attendance at the weekends at both wet and dry venues was affected by competition from other commitments such as sports clubs and the organisation continued to develop services to create demand.  In response to a question about underperformance of outreach, it was reported that much of the outreach work had been supported by Education and continued to grow.  Seasonality had been a factor in museums and galleries and GTOS outreach performance.  Mr Jackson undertook to provide a more detailed response to Members via email to be noted at the next meeting.

          DECISION:

          NOTED the update.