OPPOSITION Tories on Warrington Borough Council are bidding to call-in a decision to restructure LiveWire and provide increased financial support of more than £1.3m.
On Monday evening the council’s Labour-controlled Cabinet decided to increase funding for LiveWire, a Community Interest Company (CIC) established by the council in 2012 to run council-owned sports centres, swimming pools and libraries across the town.
The decision also involved increased financial support for Culture Warrington which runs Parr Hall, the Pyramid Art Centre, and Warrington Museum, although this was for a much smaller amount.
Cabinet has asked Council Officers to grant an increase of £1,328,000 for the annual LiveWire management fee and give LiveWire a one-off grant, the size of which council officers will decide, up to a confidential maximum amount.
The increased management fee was said to be necessary to cover the increases in staffing and energy costs, as well as adjusting for changes in revenue. The additional one-off grant is in addition to the £2.5 million grant that was given to LiveWire in 2022 to help cover increased energy costs.
However, five WBC Conservative Councillors have asked for the decision to be “called in” for consideration by the council’s Scrutiny Committee. Conservative Councillors supporting the call-in are: Carol Benson (Culcheth, Glazebury & Croft); Kath Buckley (Lymm South); Ghazala Chapman (Appleton); and Rob Tynan (Rixton & Woolston).
Submitting the call-in, Birchwood Councillor Nigel Balding said: “The decision to subsidise and restructure LiveWire provides no details of the Restructure Plan, nor does it specify the amount of subsidy grant. Both the restructuring details and amount of subsidy for such a large organisation should have been made clear before Cabinet’s decision so that there is clear democratic accountability.”
Officers are also directed to draw-up plans to restructure LiveWire to comply with the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (SCA).
The Subsidy Control Act specifies that subsidies can only be given in very special circumstances. Subsidy details must be published, and they are open to challenge by organisations which might be affected by them. Restructuring of the recipient is mandatory and further subsidies can not be given for five years.
Commenting on the Act, Cllr Balding added: “Expert legal advice is required to adhere to the requirements of the SCA. This has not been given to Cabinet because the Restructuring Plan has not been prepared, nor has an assessment of the SCA Section 20 Requirements. So, without a plan, this decision could mean almost anything in terms of jobs and services at LiveWire.”
“Additionally, without a plan, the Labour Cabinet is taking no responsibility to check whether the amount of subsidy is appropriate, leaving the decision open to challenge. The LiveWire contract is not renewable until 2027, so if the subsidy is over-generous, then funds will have been earmarked away from more needy causes within the Borough; and if the subsidy is not enough, then further subsidies are not allowed for five years, putting LiveWire at risk again.”
“The most concerning part of this decision is not knowing how the council is going to restructure Livewire. The council has an option to bring the services in-house and this might be better for staff and residents, but this option has been rejected out of hand.”
In a report to cabinet, Cllr Tony Higgins, cabinet member for leisure and communities, said LiveWire had seen a significant loss of customer income due to enforced closure, Covid safety restrictions and changing customer choices and the long-term recovery trajectory has been slower than hoped, a trend seen nationally across the leisure and gym sector.
He said this was in addition to a number of significant increases in costs in a number of areas, including salaries, driven by increases to national living wage and goods and services through inflationary pressures in the UK economy.
Of particular note was energy costs. Prices set out in the part two report remained unaffordable to LiveWire, continuing to put the viability of the organisation at risk.
A Warrington Borough Council spokesperson said: “There is a formal process and procedure that needs to be followed, where requests for the call-in of Cabinet decisions are submitted and the validity of requests then considered.
“We will therefore determine the validity of this call-in request this week.”
The full call-in document can be downloaded and viewed here Livewire – Request for Call In
