AFTER all the speeches, the will of the people won the day at the last full council meeting of the year at Redditch Town Hall on Monday.
The evening opened with rising Redditch star Stuart Woolfenden who performed two songs – to thunderous applause – on the theme of mental health and wellbeing, the chosen themes of the year of borough Mayor Jenny Wheeler.
However Stuart wasn’t the only entertainment on offer.
With Tory Facebook guru Mike Rouse wielding a video camera, up stepped the Conservatives to launch attack after attack on Labour’s proposals to set up a not for profit local authority trading company, called a ‘Teckal’, to run the council’s leisure services.
The council needs to save money and the Teckal, expected to achieve £440,000 in savings in 2018/19, was the preferred option over keeping the service in-house, establishing a local charitable trust to run them or outsourcing to an external operator.
Group leader Coun Juliet Brunner (Con, M’boro) condemned the Teckal option as ‘a totally unambitious plan that demonstrated Labour’s limited grasp on running the council’. She also accused the council of ‘wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers money while they dithered’.
Coun Jane Potter, a passionate and eloquent advocate for outsourcing leisure services, spoke of how ‘disappointed and appalled’ she was at the low aspirations of the ruling group and how an opportunity had been lost to come up with an ‘innovative and exciting way forward’ for both making savings and staff development.
In reply Coun John Fisher (Lab, M’boro) accused the Conservatives of ignoring the risks of using an external body while Coun Greg Chance (Lab, Central) questioned the future security of staff if the service was outsourced.
However the trump card was played by the portfolio holder for leisure service, Coun Pat Witherspoon (Lab, Church Hill), who said: “I am absolutely convinced we are making the correct offer to the residents of Redditch and the thing that convinces me is the results of a survey of the people of Redditch.
“They want the services to remain in Redditch, they want it to be run properly and this local authority trading company will provide that.”
In light of this, could the Conservatives go against the will of the people?
No they could not. When it came to the vote they abstained and with no votes against the measure was carried.
A full business case for a Teckal will now be worked up to be present to council in the new year.
Speaking after the meeting Coun Potter said: “We wish to emphasise the external trust we were promoting was a charity and as such the council would maintain complete control of all the assets.
“The organisation we had seen and were keen on operated on a not-for-profit basis and they were experts in providing all sorts of opportunities for both users and staff. Labour were trying to make it appear we were trying hiving off the assets.
“That definitely was not the case.”
What is a Teckal?
FOUR options were on the table before a Teckal – local authority trading company – emerged as the preferred one.
These were to keep things as they were; create a Teckal; set up a local charitable trust to run leisure services; or outsource to a leisure specialist to run.
The Conservatives have long favoured the latter and had visited Labour controlled Cannock council to see one in operation. This they felt would provide higher savings and an improved service for residents.
However the option chosen reflected the council’s desire to retain ownership of land and buildings, keep control over strategy, price and programming, and to protect the terms and conditions of current staff while also delivering the required savings.
