Leisure Centres, COVID outbreaks, budget & refuse consultations

Cornwall Council Report - 3/10/20 - Jayne Kirkham


This week Cornwall Council bailed out GLL, who are the charitable company that have a 25 year contract to run most of Cornwall’s leisure centres, with a £6million mixture of grants and loans. They also offered to support the remaining leisure centres run by other organisations. The government has only stepped in to support directly managed leisure services, leaving Cornwall in the lurch. The money will have to come out of the Council’s reserves, which are already depleted due to Covid. https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/council-news-room/media-releases/news-from-2020/news-from-september-2020/council-steps-in-to-help-cornwall-leisure-centres-open-next-month-and-calls-on-government-to-step-up-to-secure-their-future/


The council were between a rock and a hard place, but aside from the concern about handing over Cornish taxpayers’ money to a national company, that company still do not pay their Cornish workers a foundation living wage. No conditions on minimum pay for staff or maximum pricing for children’s swimming clubs & lessons (which have been raised dramatically over the last couple of years) were attached to the bailout, despite the Labour Group’s representations.


Maybe contracting out our precious assets on a 25 year contract to save cash, rather than directly managing them, wasn’t the best idea. And maybe our MPs should have been fighting harder for central government support for Cornwall.


We are fighting for a separate deal to save Princess Pavilions.


This week I have spent a lot of time working on local issues in Falmouth. Residents’ flooding issues, a proposed new cycle route from Penryn to Falmouth where a bid has gone in for the government’s ‘Active Travel’ pot, parking and Covid-19. There have been a few cases of university students coming to our universities with the illness and some students are isolating. It is important that they isolate successfully and that everyone in the town continues to take measures to stay safe. If anyone thinks they may need a test, the how and when are here - https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-cornwall/information-about-coronavirus-covid-19/your-health-symptoms-and-staying-safe/getting-tested-for-covid-19/


The Council’s Public Health team have also been taken up with the outbreak at the Tulip/Pilgrim’s Pride factory in Pool which hit the national news - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-54361824


There are ongoing consultations on the budget - https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/budget and rubbish, recycling, beach and street cleaning - https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/biffasurvey