Panel to receive presentation and report by SportsAble.

David Scott, Head of Communities, introduced the item and thanked Asghar Majeed, Chairman of SportsAble and Julia Chester, Deputy Chair, SportsAble Board of Trustees for attending and providing the Panel with a Year 3 SLA funding update.

Julia Chester informed the Panel that things at SportsAble had changed considerably. Julia Chester would report on the questions that were asked at the previous meeting. Julia Chester updated the Panel on the following points:

·         The Charity Commission report and redacted letter had been sent to the Panel Members.

·         There was going to be a likely insolvency of SportsAble Ltd, which was separate in financial responsibility. An insolvency had been filed. As a result there was some trading limitations on the Charity.

·         Hiring out of space – associated with objectives in raising money, the space was used to the fullest extent for weddings, parties, wakes and meetings of local charities and sports groups.

·         As a charity, a bar could not be run.

·         Covid-19 restrictions had had an impact on less people meeting together, having to spend more on cleaning and restrictions in raising money.

·         Other concerns in the Charity Commission letter were already being addressed. SportsAble were still in contact with the Charity Commission and had received good advice about the process.

·         The SportsAble charity was much stronger and in a better place.

·         The number of Members and where they were based had been provided. It was a high level view and a snapshot in time using postcode analysis.

·         Covid-19 had effected the membership greatly.

David Scott confirmed with Julia Chester that the figures showed that there were 252 members on 1 August and asked what category these fell into. Julia Chester informed the Panel that this included all members including carers and their family members. David Scott suggested that the figures would be more useful if they were broken down further by category.

ACTION: SportsAble to do further breakdown of figures into categories and report back to David Scott.

Councillor Del Campo asked for clarification on who owned the land and who owned the building. Julia Chester informed the Panel that the Charity had leased the land from RBWM since 1995 for 60 years and owned the building.

Councillor Price asked what support the council could give for the outreach project. Julia Chester informed the Panel that the council could help by providing signposting, to point people in the right direction, this would be helpful to both parties. Julia Chester continued that they were trying to be creative and were looking at new ways of working. SportsAble had plenty of space but there were now restrictions in place, the cost of cleaning the building was expensive, four times more than before covid-19. As a result, only one group could use the facilities every day. Councillor Price asked for suggestions on what could be done. David Scott commented that the club was facing a different world with new arrangements and a different approach. David Scott suggested that he would talk with his team to explore further ways of signposting.

ACTION: David Scott to explore new ways of signposting

Councillor Bhangra thanked SportsAble for being a great charity.

Councillor Del Campo suggested having discussions with Braywick Leisure Centre (BLC) to see if they could assist. David Scott informed the Panel that subject to the leisure trust meeting government guidelines, SportsAble would be able to resume as soon as possible. David Scott offered to explore all avenues and have discussion.

ACTION: David Scott to work with SportsAble and BLC to explore and discuss.

Julia Chester reported that the swimming coach had worked very closely with officers in the design of the pool at the new BLC. SportsAble thanked David Scott who had always been very helpful to SportsAble.