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MINUTES of the MEETING of the BOARD OF DIRECTORS of WEST LOTHIAN LEISURE LIMITED held withinLOW PORT CENTRE, LINLITHGOW on Thursday 7th September 2017.

Present – Cindy Brook (Chair), David Eardley, Beverley Greer, Karen Anderson,

Cllr. Chris Horne, Cllr. Harry Cartmill, Robert Montgomery,

Apologies – Cllr. Tom Kerr, Cllr. Angela Doran, Cllr. Andrew Miller,

James Cameron, Paul Stark, Eric Stafford, Heather Duncan

In attendance – Robin Strang, Billy Key, Mark Chambers, (West Lothian Leisure)

Action
1. / QUORUM
The Chair advised that a quorum of members was present and the meeting could proceed as planned.
2. / ADDITIONAL OR ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS TO BE CONSIDERED AT THE END OF THE MEETING.
Robin advised there were two items he wished to discuss at the end of the meeting.
3. / DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Following discussion about Councillor’s declarations of interest at the last Board meeting, Robincontacted James Millar (WL Council’s Governance Officer) to determine an appropriate form of words for such declarations. James proposedadding the statement below to the Standing Orders. This will avoid Councillors having to declare at every meeting that they are Councillors, but makes it clear that there may be some separate personal interest that does need them to say and/or do something about it.
“Council Directorson the Board do not have to declare an interest solely because they are a Councillor or Member of another Devolved Public Body. They have been appointed to the West Lothian Leisure Board by West Lothian Council under the provisions of article 7 of West Lothian Leisure Articles of Association.
A Council Director (in common with other Directors on the Board) must disclose any direct or indirect pecuniary or other interest in relation to an item of business to be transacted at a meeting of West Lothian Leisure’s Board, or a Sub-Committee Board, before taking part in any discussion on that item.
Where an interest is disclosed under the above terms, the onus is on the member declaring the interest to decide whether, in the circumstances, it is appropriate for that member to take part in the discussion of, or voting on the item of business “.
It was agreed that this statement is added to WLL’s Standing Orders.
David Eardley declared an interest in any matters involving the performance or remuneration of the Auditors or the planning or results of any audit undertaken by Scott-Moncrieff, and in particular items 9 & 12. / RS
4. / MINUTE OF THE BOARD MEETING ON 29th JUNE 2017
The minute of the Board Meeting held on 29th June 2017 was accepted as a true and accurate record.
Matters arising:
Item 4: The transfer of the payroll services to WLC has been delayed and is likely now to be November 2017.
Item 5: As noted by David at the last Board meeting data protection law in the UK is about to undergo the most significant change since the introduction of the Data Protection Act in 1998. The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in May 2016 and companies have until May 2018 to become fully compliant. Progress will be reported at future meetings. Mark added that we are liaising with suppliers who currently hold our data to ensure we are compliant in that regard.
Item 6: Robin provided Directors with the response from WLC on the issues regarding the roof repair at Xcite Broxburn Sports Centre, and will forward a copy of the full response to Directors.
Item 8: Following approval to progress the proposal, Robin wrote to the Council’s Depute Chief Executive, who will progress matters.
Item 12: On 18 August we were informed that operations at Bathgate Regal Theatre were voluntarily winding up. WLC are now looking into options for the Theatre.
Decision: The minute was accepted as a true and accurate record. / RS
5. / MINUTE OF THE AUDIT & FINANCE SUB COMMITTEE MEETING ON 9th August 2017
The minute of the Audit and Finance Sub Committee Meeting held on 9th August 2017 was accepted as a true and accurate record. There were no matters arising.
Cindy took this opportunity to welcome Robert Montgomery (Trade Union Director) to the Board.
6. / PERFORMANCE REPORT APRIL - APRIL to JULY 2017
(REP-0717)
Finance
In Heathers absence Robin went through the financial position to the end of July 2017. The projected year end trading position can be managed within our reserves, but we will have to keep a close eye on income and expenditure. He advised that we are keeping a tight rein on our expenditure with essential staff replacements only being made after consultation with SMT and only essential maintenance being undertaken.
The performance of the transferred services are reported separately at present. These services are projecting a year end deficit of £47k. We are looking into why this is the case.
David noted that the balance sheet doesn’t tally with the cash-flow statement.
Performance Dashboard
Robin went through the performance dashboard for the period highlighting key points, including that customer visits were up by 4.1% on last year and that memberships were slightly up on last year, mainly due to the introduction of the Young Adult package.
Operations
Billywent through the operations report highlighting membership sales, retention performance and NPS scores.
He reported that numbers on our Learn to Swim Programme have dropped slightly, due to school holidays.
Business Development
Markhighlighteddifficulties with the roof works at Xcite Broxburn Sports Centre, however now that the work is complete we can begin planned internal improvements.
Our most recent membership promotion in July achieved 927 sales and another promotion is planned for October this year.
With regard to the proposed gym extension at Xcite Bathgate Leisure Centre, the Council will consider the prudential borrowing request on 19th September. If approved we anticipate an opening date of February 2018.
Mark advised that cute to the marketing budget this year have had an adverse effect on sales, so the SMT have reinstated part of the budget.
HR and Training
In Eric’s absence, Robin went through the HR & Training section of the performance reporthighlighting the levels of attendance at training events to ensureexcellent customer service and safety of staff and customers.
The Board was asked to note that the company’s sickness absence rate is higher than anticipated at this time but gave assurance the company’s policies and procedures were rigorously applied. The situation is being closely monitored.
Robin advised that employee turnover is higher than target. There are a number of factors contributing to this, including: the recent conversion of group fitness instructors to self-employed status; we employ a high number of students are going back to University at this time of year; there are still high levels of dissatisfaction with pay, and with an upturn in the jobs market some people are moving to higher paid jobs; and more local competition for jobs.
Harry enquired about future pay rises within WLL. Robin noted that it remains our practice to apply the same pay awards as the Council.
Risks
The Chief Executive went through the key risks to achieving performance targets. The biggest risk is still the unprecedented competition in the West Lothian area.
Decision: To note the report. / HD
7. / Presentation on this years’ Marketing Plan
  • Mark delivered a presentation on his Marketing Plan focusing on the next three years 2017 to 2020.
  • Key elements included internal and external environment review, market trends, competition, demographics, market research and product review.
  • The plan also focused on marketing objectives for the year, financial objectives and branding.
Mark concluded that if anyone wished to have a copy of his plan, to let him know.
12. / AOCB
Robin advised Directors of the recommendations within the recent Barclay review into non domestic (business) rates, and how (if approved by Parliament) they could affect WLL. As current Chair of Sporta Scotland (the organisation that represents leisure and cultural trusts in Scotland) Robin is engaging with the Government and the Cabinet Secretary on this matter.
Robin plans to have our five year plan completed by the end of October. This will set out proposed steps to ensure our financial sustainability. A Business Planning Day has been provisionally arranged forWednesday 8th November to discuss these proposals. Further details will be emailed shortly. / RS
13. / Dates of Next Meetings
Board: Thursday 26th October 2017, 6.30pm at Xcite Bathgate.
Audit and Finance Sub-Committee: Wednesday 29thNovember 2017, 6.30pm at Xcite Bathgate