03 Jun 2015
‘Jury out’ on leisure sector’s resilience to further spending cuts
BY Jak Phillips
Continued cuts to local authorities’ cultural and leisure budgets could undermine the health and wellbeing of communities and add to the skills and experience gaps young people are currently facing.
That is the conclusion of a new report from the Chief Cultural & Leisure Officers Association (CLOA), which has examined the impact of austerity on arts and leisure budgets based on submissions from 52 local authorities.
The report found that a high proportion of local authorities had been forced to make cuts exceeding 15 per cent over the past three years, with areas such as sport and leisure facilities, plus sports development the hardest hit.
It noted that sports and leisure facilities – alongside tourist information centres and libraries – have been the most susceptible to closure and said that more must be done to highlight the consequences.
Local authority budgets have been under considerable strain since austerity began in 2010, with culture and leisure competing for funding with oversubscribed services such as and social care. A recent investigation by the BBC found that £42.4m has been slashed from council sport and leisure budgets since 2010.
“The closure or cessation of facilities and services may indicate that decision makers are unaware or unconcerned about the impact these services have on health and wellbeing, economic development and community cohesion,” wrote the authors of the CLOA report.
“This suggests the need to raise and grow understanding amongst elected members and with chief executives.”
The report found that a combination of greater commercialisation of services, more commissions for leisure services from the health sector and alternative delivery models (such as through zero-subsidy leisure trusts) has so far helped to largely stave off the impact of funding cuts.
However, CLOA notes that the “jury is out” in terms of whether the sector has the resilience to make further reductions on a scale that has continued since 2008.
“Should this trend (of spending cuts) continue, a further significant reduction in provision will undermine the vital role culture and leisure play in improving the health and wellbeing of local communities,” the report authors warned.
“It will also not only have a detrimental impact on employment within the
sector, but given that many people employed in leisure and culture are young, it will add to the skills and experience gaps young people are currently facing.”
CLOA chair Iain Varah said the report has been shared with key agencies involved in the delivery of cultural and sport services and expressed hope that it will help shape and inform policy developments.
“Local government cultural and sport services play a vital and hugely cost effective role in supporting the wellbeing and economy of our communities and it is essential that they continue to evolve and where possible grow,” added Varah.
“We know that the pace of cuts for 2016/17 (and beyond) appears to be consistent with previous years, and therefore positioning of culture and sport at the heart of delivering outcomes remains of vital importance.”
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