To the Chair and Members of

Cabinet

CESSATION OF THE PROVISION OF FREE OF CHARGE MAINTENANCE TO CISWO MINERS WELFARES

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.         This report seeks Cabinet approval to cease the free provision by Doncaster Council of all maintenance to grounds, buildings, fencing and footways at all CISWO (Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation) Miners Welfare Schemes where the responsibility for each site is vested in a Board of Trustees or Town/Parish Council. The Miners Welfares involved are: Mexborough, Thorne/Moorends (Grange Road) Armthorpe (Church St), Bentley (The Avenue/Arthur Avenue), Denaby & Cadeby, Rossington, Brodsworth (Welfare Road), Stainforth/Hatfield Main (Church Road), Dunscroft/Hatfield Main (Broadway/Sheep Dip Lane), Askern (Sutton Rd), Edlington/Yorkshire Main and Highfields (Coppice Rd).

2.         The current maintenance arrangements for the Conisbrough and Carcroft sites will continue to be provided by Doncaster Council as it is believed that legal ownership of these recreation grounds is vested in Doncaster Council as trustee for these sites.   

3.         The cessation of the free maintenance service to take effect from 1^st    April 2012.

4.         Doncaster Council will commence charging for the provision of             maintenance delivered at Miners Welfares with the exception of           Conisbrough and Carcroft from 1^st April 2012 where requests for      services are received from individual Miners Welfares.

5.         The cessation of free of charge maintenance requires, in a number of cases, the termination of existing legal agreements between the         individual welfares/Town Councils and Doncaster Council. 

6.      The content and recommendation contained in this report is based on all information that was available at the time of compilation of the report. However, it should be noted that due to the absence of complete legal and asset information some assumptions have been made with regards to responsibility for some sites and the specific requirements for termination. Namely, that responsibility for the maintenance of some sites is vested in either an active Board of Trustees/Management Committee or Town or Parish Council and that the termination clause is similar to that cited in Paragraph 14.  

EXEMPT REPORT

7.         N/A    

RECOMMENDATIONS

8.         It is recommended that Cabinet approve the proposals set out in this report.

BACKGROUND

9.         As part of the recent budget review process to examine what services were delivered at what costs, the provision of the grounds maintenance service to miner’s welfares was identified as part of the review. The service to welfares was identified on the basis that it is being provided free of charge to individual welfares. After due consideration and initial dialogue with representatives of CISWO, the Mayor has taken the view that the free service should be withdrawn and any future service provision, where requested by individual welfares, should be paid for by them.  

10.       The proposal to commence charging miners welfares for services such as grounds maintenance is one of a number of ongoing changes that the Authority needs to consider and in some other cases has implemented as part of its overall revenue enhancement programme to help to achieve the Council’s fiscal challenges, which Doncaster is not alone in facing. One example being, the re-introduction of fees/charges for DMBC bowling greens. 

11.       There are currently 14 Miners Welfare/recreation grounds within           Doncaster Borough where maintenance such as grounds maintenance         is provided on a free of charge basis by Doncaster Council.

12.       The provision of maintenance forms part of a requirement of individual            legal agreements, which were entered into previously with individual           welfare scheme Boards of Trustees by Doncaster Council. In         return, the welfares agree to make the facilities available to local          residents.

13.       In terms of a community asset, miner’s welfares often provide facilities            that are used by a variety of sporting clubs, as well as the wider        community. In some cases the recreation facilities are the main             resource in terms of amenity open space in a particular area, which in             turn can provide the only means for passive and active recreation   within that particular area.     

16.       Legal ownership of the recreation grounds at Conisbrough and Carcroft has since become vested in the Council as trustee of charity known as Conisbrough Recreation Ground and Carcroft Social Welfare and Recreation Ground respectively.  As trustee the Council will have a duty to act in the charity’s best interests which would presumably including keeping the recreation ground maintained/in good condition. Therefore current maintenance arrangements will continue to be provided by the Council at these sites.  

17.       Stainforth/Hatfield Main (Church Road) & Dunscroft/Hatfield Main (Broadway/Sheep Dip Lane) - No Agreements between DMBC and Hatfield and Stainforth Town Councils could be located as to arrangements for maintenance of these recreation grounds.  It is assumed from information taken from the charity Commission’s website that the respective Town Councils have responsibility as trustees for these sites. 

18.       Moorends (Grange Rd) – It is understood that this site is the responsibility of Thorne/Moorends Town Council.

OPTIONS CONSIDERED

19.       Cease the free provision of maintenance services to those Miners’      Welfare sites where the sites are the responsibility of individual Boards             of Trustees or Town/Parish Councils and not the sole responsibility of         Doncaster Council where appropriate through the termination of           Agreements. Also, implement charging for maintenance services        such as grounds maintenance where requests are received from            individual welfares.   (Recommended Option)  

20.         Continue with the current arrangement of providing maintenance services free of charge at all sites.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDED OPTION

21.       At a time when the Council faces a significant reduction in the funding from Government and the fiscal challenges presented to core services, the cessation of a free service will bring services such as grounds maintenance into line with other customers/clients, whereby generally charges for service provision are made.   

22.       Doncaster Council will continue to offer services on a ‘charged for’ basis. It should be noted that individual Welfares may decide to carry out the maintenance themselves or procure services from elsewhere. Should Welfares decide to procure services from the Council then there would be a degree of income generated to the Council to offset some of the costs associated with the relevant services.   

23.       In the event that the Council is not asked to continue with maintenance this would at least allow for existing resources to be deployed effectively elsewhere offsetting existing workload pressures and aiming to improve service delivery standards.

IMPACT ON THE COUNCIL’S KEY PRIORITIES

25.       CISWO is the overarching representative body of the various miners’ welfares charities within the borough and as such CISWO’s cooperation is often required to progress particular projects. If CISWO  were to withdraw its support where their cooperation is required for project delivery, then there would be a potential risk to the progression of such projects. It is not possible to foresee whether CISWO would adopt such an approach at this time, however ongoing dialogue regarding the progression of projects will continue with CISWO.             .

26.       The trustees of individual Welfare schemes could decide to cease to make available facilities to local residents stopping access and use of welfare facilities by wider communities. It is assumed that should access be restricted then this could have an  impact on certain groups and members of the community, as they would no longer have access to such facilities and in some cases there may not be any alternative similar facilities within the locality for them to use. It is not possible at this time to foresee whether such an approach would be taken, however effective communication and or negotiation with individual welfare schemes would take place throughout the process in an attempt to maintain positive relations.  It has proved difficult to gather definitive information about the extent of community usage of the recreation grounds – CISWO are likely to hold a significant amount of information.  However, due to the sensitive nature of the subject matter and on the balance of probability of CISWO actually agreeing to provide accurate information it was not considered appropriate to pursue them for information. 

 27.      It is understood that the majority of the recreation grounds in question largely comprise bowling greens, football pitches and cricket pitches which while regularly used  we believe are only by a proportion of the local community.  If Cabinet decides that the Council is to cease providing free grounds maintenance on the understanding that the level of community usage is low and that savings or income of certain levels will arise but the position is subsequently found to be significantly different then Cabinet may wish to reconsider the matter.       

28.       Individual Welfare Schemes may fall into a state of disrepair or may cease to exist if for example there is a lack of funding available to maintain existing facilities. Again, this could have an impact on groups and members of the community who rely on these facilities as their main source of their recreational facilities. However as this outcome cannot be foreseen, it is not possible to give this risk a rating.  

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29.       The content and recommendation contained in this report is based on all information that was available at the time of compilation of the report. However, it should be noted that due to the absence of complete legal and asset information some assumptions have been made with regards to responsibility for some sites and the requirements for termination. Namely, that responsibility for the maintenance of some sites is vested in either an active Board of Trustees/Management Committee or Town or Parish Council. Should any issues arise from the implementation of this report then these would have to be dealt with as appropriate as they arise.                      

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

30.       As noted in Appendix A maintenance agreements between the Council and CISWO/miners welfare institutes have been located in relation to 9 recreation grounds which can be terminated by the council giving at least 6 months’ written notice to CISWO subject to termination taking effect on 31^st march in any year.  Therefore the Council can terminate its liability to maintain those particular recreation grounds on 31^st march 2012 if we serve written notice on Ciswo by 30^th September 2011.  The 9 recreation grounds in question are: 

·        Mexborough (College Road/Adwick Road)

·        Thorne/Moorends (Grange Road)

·        Armthorpe (Church Street)

·        Bentley (The Avenue/Arthur Avenue)

·        Denaby & Cadeby (Tickhill Square/Wheatley Street)

·        Rossington (Oxford Street)

·        Brodsworth (Welfare Road)

·        Askern (Sutton Road)

·        Edlington/Yorkshire Main (Lord’s Head Lane)

 31.      In relation to Highfields (coppice road) recreation ground the Council may currently be liable to maintain this ground under a lease which the Council can terminate by giving at least 6 months’ written notice to CISWO expiring on 1^st  January in any year.  Therefore if the Council wishes to terminate liability for maintaining this ground on 1^st  January 2012 we would need to serve notice on CISWO by 1^st July 2011.  

32.       Legal ownership of the recreation grounds at Conisbrough and Carcroft is vested in the Council as trustee of the charities known as Conisbrough Recreation Ground and Carcroft Social Welfare and Recreation Ground respectively under Schemes made by the Charity Commission.  As trustee the Council will have a duty to act in the charity’s best interests which would probably include keeping those recreation grounds maintained/in good condition. Therefore current maintenance arrangements will continue to be provided by the Council at these sites unless the Council ceases to be trustee of these recreation grounds. 

33.       Regarding the recreation grounds at Stainforth (Church Road) and Dunscroft/Hatfield (Broadway/Sheep Dip Lane) information obtained from the Charity Commission website indicates that the respective Town Councils (in whose areas these grounds are situated) are the respective charity trustees of those recreation grounds.  It has not been possible to ascertain whether there is any formal agreement between DMBC and these Town Councils regarding maintenance of these recreation grounds.  As indicated in Appendix A before the Town Councils became the respective trustees the Council and CISWO entered into an Agreement for maintenance of these recreation grounds by the Council but it is unclear whether that Agreement remains valid since the Town Councils were appointed trustees. 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

34.       The proposal to cease free provision of grounds maintenance at the 12 CISWO Miners Welfare facilities might result in individual Welfares choosing one of two outcomes. The Welfares might agree that the Council continues to provide the service and pay a fee, or decide to undertake or procure the maintenance themselves.

35.       Analysis carried out by the service, based on the current schedule of rates indicates that income from fees would be approximately £221k if all the Welfares opted to continue with the same level of Council services. However, it is likely the Welfares would consider alternatives. In the event that the Council is not asked to continue with the maintenance, there should be efficiencies generated by the reduction in the workload of the Grounds Maintenance teams. Estimates have been provided from the teams on the hours worked which equate to approximately 6 FTE posts in total. Assumptions have been made on the potential savings on plant/transport costs and other materials and the total saving might be £175k. This does not take into account any implications this may have on the Transport trading account.

 

36.       Further work would be needed to firmly establish the income and expenditure, but overall the estimates indicate that savings between £175k and £221k may be possible.  

37.       It is stated above (paragraph 23) that resources saved might be redirected elsewhere within the grounds maintenance function to offset existing workload pressures etc., but this decision needs to be taken with regard to the Council’s budget plans.  The Council is facing significant funding reductions and must achieve savings amounting to £71m over the 4-year period 2011/12 to 2014/15, with a £20m shortfall in 2012/13.  A number of ways are currently being explored to meet this shortfall and any saving generated from this proposal, if delivered, may go towards this target and assist the Council to balance the budget in 2012/13.  The Council’s medium-term financial plan includes a corporate revenue generation target of £1.2m for 2012/13; there are no specific budget reduction targets for the CISWO facilities and therefore any income generated could contribute to this target.

CONSULTATION

38.       Consultation has taken place with the Mayor Peter Davies Legal Services and Assets & Properties have also been consulted in the formulation of this report.

This report has significant implications in terms of the following:

39.         On implementation of this decision, consultation between relevant CISWO, Town/Parish Council representatives and the appropriate Area Managers will take place, where necessary, over the course of the ensuing six month period. The purpose of these discussions will be to focus Council resources on those areas where facilities may be withdrawn or closed. This is intended to support the facilitation of fair and positive outcomes in ensuring mutually beneficial arrangements can be put in place for the local community as a whole in terms of providing continued and sustainable provision of suitable open space areas and leisure facilities throughout Doncaster. Such work is to include the promotion of other facilities in the area such as schools and youth provision.

BACKGROUND PAPERS (Sorry I am unable to find the following Appendices contents on the Council Web Site - Webmaster)

40.       Appendix A – Site list and summary of terms

            Appendix B – Map showing miners welfare locations and areas of       alternative open space

REPORT AUTHOR & CONTRIBUTORS

Rob Vincent