No swimming in SE22 (and beyond)

[Nigello]

Dulwich and Camberwell pools are not opening. Neither is the Forest Hill pool. All three websites have a blurb saying they?re getting ready to reopen. Poor show ? they?ve had four months to prepare for a reopening. It?s difficult, I know, but other pools in other towns are managing it.

[bonaome]

See this ...

https://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/10361

Doesn't bode well, I'm afraid.

[KidKruger]

Surprise eh ?

Private company in large dividend to shareholders shocker !

Every service outsourced means money diverted to pockets of owners, that?s what companies do !

[Sally Eva]

Crystal Palace has got the 25m training pool open for fitness swimming but not the racing pool.

Watch this space, they say

https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/london/crystal-palace/crystal-palace-national-sports-centre/news/re-opening-of-leisure-facilities-at-crystal-palace-national-sports-centre

[Abe_froeman]

What that SE1 article doesnt tell is that

1) the council have given SLM 1.2 million punds of our money since March and

2) some of that went on making sure that furloughed staff pay was topped up to 100% beyond the government subsidy.

So your council decided that your money should be spent paying wages that a business paying our 15.5m of dividends wasnt prepared to pay.

It is an absolute disgrace and heads should roll for this.

https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/leisure-centre-contract-could-be-brought-in-house-after-covid-blows-hole-in-southwark-councils-budget/

[Abe_froeman]

"After gyms were locked down during the pandemic, the council agreed a support package for covering the period March to June 30 to the total of ?1.2 million.

The funds include making up the shortfall of pay from the furlough scheme so staff received 100 per cent of their salary;"

For anyone else on furlough or made redundant as a result of covid, but still having to pay full council tax rates this must be especially galling.

[Penguin68]

Outsourcing services is a perfectly viable option - but it requires very good management, including well thought-through SLAs (Service Level Agreements) and proper penalty clauses for non performance. Too often outsourcing is treated as 'move it to be someone else's problem' and of course, unless that someone else is a slap dash as you, that's a recipe to being done over. At times of crisis (as with Covid-19) the SLAs may have to be breached, but providing funding without clear outcomes and some form of pay-back is clearly just very poor management. So no surprises there, then.

[jaca77]

Crystal Palace has just announced that their 50m pool and the diving pool will be closed until Spring 2021 while they undertake repair works on both pools. The tender won?t even be out till December for these works, so I?d think even April would be optimistic to reopen.

[geh]

Hi Jaca77, where did you see this as the website just says closed during initial re-opening phase? thanks

jaca77 Wrote:

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> Crystal Palace has just announced that their 50m

> pool and the diving pool will be closed until

> Spring 2021 while they undertake repair works on

> both pools. The tender won?t even be out till

> December for these works, so I?d think even April

> would be optimistic to reopen.

[Jules-and-Boo]

Brockwell lido is open for lane swimming.

Get a wetsuit if you can't manage the cold. It's lovely!

[jaca77]

It was emailed out to members as far as I?m aware. I was forwarded it by a friend.

[Bekacs]

I'm as annoyed as you are! I will need to go and pay a joining fee for another gym (and request a refund from EA) if things don't move soon. And they have given us zero communication.

I wish they would open the gyms and argue about money later, Southwark residents have suffered long enough already

[JohnL]

Abe_froeman Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What that SE1 article doesnt tell is that

>

> 1) the council have given SLM 1.2 million punds of

> our money since March and

>

> 2) some of that went on making sure that

> furloughed staff pay was topped up to 100% beyond

> the government subsidy.

>

> So your council decided that your money should be

> spent paying wages that a business paying our

> 15.5m of dividends wasnt prepared to pay.

>

> It is an absolute disgrace and heads should roll

> for this.

>

> https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/leisure-centr

> e-contract-could-be-brought-in-house-after-covid-b

> lows-hole-in-southwark-councils-budget/

I think this is national government guidelines like most things these days (Cummings is like a spider at the center of a web). Those employees could not be furloughed on 80% (but as the baths were closed they couldn't work - maybe they should have been re-deployed.

"The Government conveyed the following view to the LGA on 2 April:"

"The Government has given local authorities ?1.6bn of additional funding to support them in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. This funding is un-ringfenced and is intended to help local authorities address any pressures they are facing in response the Covid-19 pandemic, across all service areas.

Where employers receive public grant funding for staff costs, and that funding is continuing, we expect employers to use that money to continue to pay staff in the usual fashion ? and correspondingly not furlough them. This also applies to non-public sector employers who receive public grant funding for staff costs."

https://www.local.gov.uk/lga-workforce-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

[Abe_froeman]

I don't think that is right John for two reasons:

1. This was a southwark council decision and has nothing to do with Dominic Cummings.

2. The council themselves have said that they agreed to top up the salaries of the employees of Sports and Leisure Management Limited (a private company, not a local authority) to 100% on top of the government furlough scheme.

They used our money to cover the salaries of SLM's workers . It's here in their own report in black and white:

http://moderngov.southwarksites.com/documents/b50011932/Supplemental%20Agenda%20No.2%20Tuesday%2014-Jul-2020%2016.00%20Cabinet.pdf

"...the council has agreed a support package for SLM for the period March to 30 June 2020. Officers are monitoring the usage of the support package which included:

 A payment to make up the shortfall on sums received from government for staff on the furlough scheme, so that staff received 100% of their salary

 100% of the salaries of a skeleton group of staff to maintain the sites and plant equipment

 Utilities, maintenance and incidental costs

 A waiver of the management fee for the period 21 March to 30 June 2020

 The net financial impact of the initial support package is up to ?1.292m."

[Abe_froeman]

It's supplement agenda no 2 if you can't acecs it from that link

http://moderngov.southwarksites.com/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=302&MId=6654&Ver=4

[JohnL]

Actually - It does seem most leisure center staff are having furlough topped up by councils.

Sunderland is taking a kicking for not doing so https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/politics/council/row-over-furlough-payments-sunderland-leisure-staff-2545560

Here's also a plea from GLL to help top up pay https://www.gll.org/b2b/newsitems/gll-calls-on-councils-to-top-up-furlough-pay if you want to see the contractors point of view.

It's a bit like buying IBM in the 1980s - most councils seem to do what the rest are doing I guess as it makes criticism easier to ride.

[Abe_froeman]

Greenwich Leisure Limited is a slightly different proposition though because it is registered as a charitable and social enterprise.

SLM is a private company that made ?82,764,943 of gross profit in 2019 and paid out ?10,000,000 in dividends to its shareholders.

[Bekacs]

Same line repeated by the council on twitter this morning

"For the time being our leisure centres remain closed following the change in government guidance. We are working hard with Everyone Active, our leisure centre operator, to make our centres COVID-19 secure, ready for reopening. We will provide further updates as soon as possible."

But Everyone Active say they are ready to open and are waiting for go ahead from the council

[Abe_froeman]

This is what the council report for their cabinet meeting said on that "SLM have advised that they are not in a position to open any centres without additional financial support."

[Bekacs]

That makes me livid. I cancelled my existing gym membership in order to join Dulwich Leisure Centre, so I would do the "right thing" and not need to use public transport to get to the gym (my old gym is in central London). And now I can't go to any gym!

I can't believe the lack of communication and forward planning here. I also think is disgraceful.

[Bekacs]

See this twitter thread. It really does sound like Everyone Active have demonstrated to the council through video tours, that they are ready to open, and the council are essentially now refusing to comment.

[Abe_froeman]

That is very frustrating.

[Bekacs]

Abe_froeman Wrote:

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> That is very frustrating.

Very! I have emailed my local councillors...

You can find yours here:

https://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/mgFindMember.aspx?

[seenbeen]

All Southwark seem interested in is shutting down roads and a bloody football stadium!

[NewWave]

seenbeen Wrote:

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> All Southwark seem interested in is shutting down

> roads and a bloody football stadium!

True! I believe that all measures are in place for reopening.

meanwhile I've been paying full membership all the way through lockdown.(as have many)

very frustrating!