Opposition criticise lack of scrutiny on £16.6 million leisure bailouts in Sheffield

The leader of Sheffield’s opposition has hit out at Sheffield Council’s decision to put aside £16.6 million for leisure without consultation.
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Coun Shaffaq Mohammed, leader of Sheffield Liberal Democrats, said there was no opportunity to question if it was the best use of taxpayers’ money.

The decision was made by council leader Julie Dore under emergency Covid-19 powers.

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Of the £16.6 million put aside for leisure facilities for 2020/21, up to £15 million will go to Sheffield City Trust and £1.6 million will go to Places for People. This is £11.2 million more than originally budgeted for and will come from reserves.

Coun Shaffaq Mohammed.Coun Shaffaq Mohammed.
Coun Shaffaq Mohammed.

Coun Mohammed said: “It’s a hell of a lot of money and once again a decision that has been fast-tracked with no opportunities to be questioned or scrutinised. It’s been a massive issue previously and it’s got no better now.

“It’s very difficult to judge whether this is the best use of taxpayers’ money when you are presented with information at no notice other than being emailed after the fact and it’s not the way things should be done in Sheffield.

“It’s easy to dip into reserves but what are we going to do next year when there are little reserves left?

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“Dipping into reserves and not allowing anyone to question it should not be the way we do things.

Sheffield's Sofia Sathio and Victoria Ward diving at Ponds Forge. Picture: Marie Caley NSST Diving MC 2Sheffield's Sofia Sathio and Victoria Ward diving at Ponds Forge. Picture: Marie Caley NSST Diving MC 2
Sheffield's Sofia Sathio and Victoria Ward diving at Ponds Forge. Picture: Marie Caley NSST Diving MC 2

“I can see certain situations when emergency decisions need to be made but in this case, leisure facilities have been shut since March. There has been plenty of time to think about it and I can’t see why this could not have been made either at cabinet or as a leader's decision subject to call in."

The money was given to help SCT and Places Leisure reopen facilities that were closed due to Covid-19.

All three of Places for People’s leisure facilities will reopen by September 1 and while most of SCT’s fitness venues will be reopening for some activities this month, Ponds Forge International Sports Centre will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

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Coun Mohammed added: “The fact we are putting all this money in and we are still not going to have Ponds Forge open really begs the question what are we doing? We are supposed to be the city of sport and we are already hearing our diving clubs are not going to be able to operate amongst other things, given this is a world class facility and a national asset why on earth has Julie Dore not tried to involve national government in this to say Ponds Forge is a national training centre? This should not just be left to the taxpayers.”

Ponds Forge International Sports Centre.Ponds Forge International Sports Centre.
Ponds Forge International Sports Centre.

The amount of staff working at SCT venues as they reopen will be reduced significantly by 290 full time equivielent employees, affecting around 440 people. The Trust said it is looking at making significant redundancies as a result.

The council also noted it will need to provide additional funds in relation to redundancy costs.

This follows a period of significant financial difficulty in which SCT was found to be “haemorrhaging cash” and needed a multi-million pound bail out from the council last year. Then Covid-19 struck and forced venues to close, taking away sources of income.

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In a council report of the decision, officers said there were two other options that were considered. One was to keep all SCT facilities mothballed, which would have reduced the grant required to £11.2 million. This was not chosen as the savings in keeping facilities closed was relatively small when compared to reopening and would have a detrimental impact on health and wellbeing.

Another option was to reopen all venues - including Ponds Forge - but this would increase the grant needed to £16.6 million just for SCT. This was ruled out because it was too expensive.

Coun Mary Lea, cabinet member for culture, parks and leisure, said: "Covid-19 has placed many pressures on the leisure sector, including the significant increased cost of mobilisation and re-opening. We are supporting UK Active and Sport England, in highlighting the need for urgent financial support for the leisure industry from the Government, to ensure that reopening of public facilities in Sheffield is financially viable.

"The government support package identified to date does not currently allow for losses where councils, such as Sheffield, subsidise leisure services either directly or through a management charge.

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"The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, is aware of this and is continuing to review the details of the support package currently available to councils. We also continue to work closely with the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to consider what more can be done to support the unplanned expenditure pressures which councils are incurring in relation to local leisure provision.

"We are in regular contact with Sport England and are awaiting details of any further support available from central government. In the meantime we are prioritising our residents’ needs and wellbeing by supporting these important facilities to reopen."

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