OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
Another goal is to achieve £2bn of social value over five years, and in 2023, our social value rose 8 per cent to £442m. So again, we’re well on track. We’re also aiming to teach half a million children to swim up to the 25m requirement, and are tracking well on our goal of getting 1 million new people active over five years – customers we can verify as being new to GLL. One of the keys to increasing usage is our growing number of partnerships with strategically important national organisations – the likes of Diabetes UK, Carers UK, Age UK and Alzheimer’s Society. We want to support people with health issues and restricted opportunity to exercise, and these organisations are already communicating with these audiences and trusted by them. They can advise us on how to shape our services. I have to say, these organisations are open arms to those who genuinely want to work with them, listen to what they have to say and tailor things that will work for the people they’re supporting. I believe this is something for the whole sector to look at: a really positive way to address these important audiences in an effective, efficient manner. Concessionary use will also play a part, and is something we’re already seeing a rise in. We’ve always believed in a Robin Hood approach: that if people can afford to pay, they should, enabling GLL to subsidise others who can’t.
Now, with people feeling the cost-of-living pinch, we’re making a concerted effort to increase the visibility of our concessionary rates and encourage uptake still further. The values embedded in our five-year plan have also landed really well with our colleagues, partners and customers: energy reduction and sustainability, addressing inequalities across society, being a Real Living Wage employer and so on. In fact, they positively contributed to our achieving an Investors in People Gold for the first time in 2023, with our colleagues appreciating our grasp of the social issues that matter to them, and the fact we’re doing something about it. These are important factors for GLL as a charitable social enterprise that’s staff-owned. What’s the industry-wide picture? Cost of service and supply remains high across the sector. Utility prices and inflation are improving, but are still historically high. This is offsetting a number of revenue gains, and there’s still a way to go to bring cost of service under control, which is a challenge for the whole sector. Another challenge is the fragility of catering companies, which across the UK are being hit hard by the cost of produce. We’re talking to a lot of our catering partners about sharing the risk and working together to find win- win solutions.
As part of its five-year plan, GLL is aiming to teach half a million children to swim up to the 25m requirement
I see a glass ceiling where participation is concerned, so there needs to be more creativity. I think individual tax benefits could be one option.
And of course, local authority funding is another big issue for the public sector. With a number of councils issuing section 114 notices and with it effectively declaring bankruptcy, they’re primarily focused on delivering statutory services – of which leisure is still not one. That’s a real concern, because across the UK, leisure and sports provision is underpinned by the public sector: around £1bn a year is invested by local government 1 , with a large proportion of all facilities being local authority- owned. The current threat to public finances could leave us teetering on the edge. I believe it is on us all to look at our sector with clarity and vigour, taking seriously our role in the health agenda and leveraging thought leadership and lobbying to re-open the debate about leisure becoming a statutory service. It will be hard to make more things statutory when local authorities are so financially challenged, and of course, even becoming statutory will not automatically protect all centres: it simply means local authorities have to ensure appropriate provision for their local communities. However, we need to weigh up the pros and cons, face up to these difficult discussions and be ready to make our case.
We should also be open to questioning how National Lottery receipts can be further used to support a sustainable future for community sport and physical activity, alongside funding provision for sporting performance. What else should the sector do? We need to sharpen our arguments to government around tax incentives, encouraging their direct distribution to individuals rather than organisations that might not always pass them on. At the moment, I see a glass ceiling where participation is concerned. At GLL, we’re making good progress around increased usage and people interested in health and wellness, but there needs to be more creativity still – and I think individual tax benefits could be one option. It’s hard to change the behaviours of sedentary people, but what if they were financially incentivised to join a leisure centre or sports facility? Good discussions are underway with ukactive and other industry groups, and there are good examples of people showing they are perfectly capable of self-incentivising if tax breaks are on offer.
It will be hard to make more things statutory when local authorities are so financially challenged, but we must be ready to make our case
“We’re making a concerted effort to increase the visibility of our concessionary rates and drive uptake still further,” says Bundey
1 www.local.gov.uk/about/news/lga-securing-future-public-sport-and-leisure-facilities-and-services-integral-health
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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2024
STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2024
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