West Dunbartonshire Council
Report by the Director of Education and Cultural Services
Children’s Services Committee: 17 May 2006
Subject: Proposal for increased swimming lesson charges in 2006/2007
1. Purpose
1.1 To propose an increase in the current charges applied to swimming lessons delivered by the Sports Development Unit, Education and Cultural Services Department.
1.2 To provide the committee with additional information on the number of people accessing swimming lessons from outwith West Dunbartonshire Council and a further analysis of swimming lesson prices with comparator local authorities. Please note that committee members requested this information at the previous Children’s Services Committee of 15 March 2006.
2. Background
2.1 An earlier report, dated 15 March 2006 compared various local authorities’ swimming lesson prices. This analysis indicated that West Dunbartonshire Council’s charges are low when compared with those in the other local authorities included in the report.
2.2 The report also highlighted the fact that large numbers of non-residents are accessing swimming lessons provided by the Council, presumably as a result of low charges. This trend reduces the number of spaces available to West Dunbartonshire’s council tax payers.
2.3 The committee noted the issues included in the report and decided that the proposal would be considered further at today’s meeting.
2.4 The Sports Development Unit struggles to develop and improve its programmes as a result of the low charges of swimming lessons.
3. Main Issues
3.1 Swimming Lessons
3.1.1 Analysis of swimming lesson prices in comparator local authorities reveals that the cost of West Dunbartonshire Council swimming lessons currently appears to be by far the lowest.
3.1.2 The charges per swimming lesson of the comparator local authorities are detailed below. The analysis of the cost per lesson and instruction time (adults) provides an accurate comparison of swimming lesson prices.
Page 1 of 5 Junior lessons West Dunbartonshire £16.50 for ten lessons: cost per ½ hr lesson £1.65 (5 hours) 05/06 06/07 1. North Ayrshire cost per ½ hr lesson £3.30 £3.40 (3% increase) 2. Renfrewshire cost per ½ hr lesson £2.87 £3.00 (5% increase) 3. Inverclyde cost per ½ hr lesson £2.75 £3.00 (10% increase) 4. Midlothian cost per ½ hr lesson £2.87 £3.00 (5% increase) 5. Clackmannanshire cost per ½ hr lesson £2.30 £2.45 (7% increase) (Clackmannanshire will increase by another 5% in summer)
Adult lessons West Dunbartonshire £16.50 for five lessons: cost for 1 hr instruction £3.30 (5 hours) 05/06 06/07 1. North Ayrshire cost for 1 hr instruction £8.00 £8.00 2. Renfrewshire cost for 1 hr instruction £7.75 £8.50 3. Inverclyde cost for 1 hr instruction £8.00 £9.20 4. Midlothian Only do one to one lessons £10.25 ½ hour lesson 5. Clackmannanshire cost for 1 hr instruction £5.20 £5.60 (Clackmannanshire will increase by another 5% in summer)
3.1.3 At £16.50 for a block of ten swimming lessons, West Dunbartonshire is significantly lower than other local authorities. The tables above also shows that all comparator local authorities have increased their lesson prices further for 2006/07 financial year.
3.1.4 If the ‘Passport to Leisure’ scheme discount is applied to West Dunbartonshire Council’s charge, the swim scheme generates income of only £13.20 for a block of ten swimming lessons. This highlights how cheap West Dunbartonshire Council’s swimming lessons are.
3.1.5 The low rate of charging creates difficulties for the Sports Development Section in meeting income targets and developing its service.
3.1.6 The graphs below show the charges for swimming lessons in comparator local authorities for both children and adults in 05/06.
Analysis of Junior Swimming Lesson Prices of Comparator Analysis of Adult Swimming Lesson Prices of Comparator Local Authorities Local Authorities
£4.00 £9.00
£3.50 £8.00
£7.00 £3.00
£6.00 £2.50
£5.00
£2.00 Price Price £4.00 £1.50 £3.00 £1.00 £2.00 £0.50 £1.00 £0.00 £0.00
Midlothian Inverclyde Midlothian Inverclyde Renfrewshire Renfrewshire North Ayrshire North Ayrshire Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire West Dunbartonshire Page 2 of 5West Dunbartonshire Local Authority Local Authority 3.2 Limited availability of swimming lessons for West Dunbartonshire Council residents
3.2.1 There is a huge demand for swimming lessons in West Dunbartonshire, and in response to this, additional lessons were organised. This, however, has not helped large numbers of residents in West Dunbartonshire as people from Helensburgh, Drymen, Balfron, Glasgow and East Dunbartonshire are travelling into West Dunbartonshire for cheaper swimming lessons.
3.2.2 The Passport to Leisure scheme enables local residents to get a 20% discount on charges. The same scheme also provides residents from other local authorities with a 15% discount. This obviously still provides people from other authorities with substantially cheaper lessons than they could access in their local area.
3.2.3 Further investigation has highlighted that non-residents are currently accessing 145 places in West Dunbartonshire Council’s Learn to swim Scheme, totalling approximately 290 lessons as in most cases children are provided with two lessons per week. This figure equates to over 24% of all available lessons, as the ‘Learn to Swim Scheme’ delivers an average total of 1,200 lessons per week.
4. Proposed charges for swimming lessons in 2006/2007
4.1 In order more realistically to align the charges of the swimming lessons with other local authorities, the following increases are proposed.
Current Proposed Description 2005/2006 2006/2007
Junior Swimming Lessons (10) £16.50 £20.00 (5 hours instruction time) 20% discount = £16
Non Residents = £24.00 15% discount = £20.40
Adult Swimming Lessons (5) £16.50 £22.00 (5 hours instruction time) 20% discount = £17.60 Concession - 50% discount = £11.00
Non Residents = £26.00 15% discount = £22.10
Page 3 of 5 4.2 The following increases in swimming lesson charges are proposed for 2007/2008.
Proposed Proposed Description 2006/2007 2007/2008
Junior Swimming Lessons (10) £20.00 £23.00 (5 hours instruction time) 20% discount = £18.40
Non Residents = £27.00 15% discount = £22.95
Adult Swimming Lessons (5) £22.00 £25.00 (5 hours instruction time) 20% discount = £20.00 Concession - 50% discount = £12.50
Non Residents = £30.00 15% discount = £25.50
4.3 The graph below shows that even with the increased charge for 06/07 the costs are still substantially lower than other local authority’s charges.
Analysis of Junior Swimming Lesson Prices of Comparator Analysis of Adult Swimming Lesson Prices of Comparator Local Authorities Local Authorities
£9.00 £4.00
£8.00 £3.50
£7.00 £3.00
£6.00 £2.50
£5.00
£2.00
Price Price £4.00 £1.50
£3.00 £1.00
£2.00 £0.50
£1.00 £0.00
£0.00
Midlothian Inverclyde North Ayrshire Renfrewshire Midlothian Inverclyde Renfrewshire Clackmannanshire North Ayrshire West Dunbartonshire Clackmannanshire West Dunbartonshire Local Authority Local Authority
4.4 Housing Regeneration and Environmental Services ‘Passport to Leisure’ scheme could continue to be included in the charge to provide local residents with an additional discount. The discounts that would apply are shown in the table at 4.2.
Page 4 of 5 4.5 If the Children’s Services Committee approves the increased charges, the additional income will not only be used to improve the swimming development programme but will also be used to improve the sporting infrastructure in West Dunbartonshire. More local people will be trained and employed as swimming teachers and community sports coaches, specialised equipment will be purchased (special needs, mother and toddler equipment, flippers, floats etc.) and sport and physical activity opportunities will be expanded for young people in West Dunbartonshire, improving their health and well-being.
4.6 It is unlikely that this increase would have any adverse affect on swimming lessons, as they would remain substantially cheaper than other local authorities and demand is exceptionally high throughout the programme.
5. Personnel Issues
5.1 There are no personnel issues.
6. Financial Implications
6.1 These proposals, if agreed, will mean a small cost increase to residents of West Dunbartonshire Council with a larger increase in cost to non-residents.
7. Recommendations
7.1 Members are requested to approve the proposed increase in charges for the “Learn to Swim” scheme to be effective from May 2006.
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Bob Cook Director of Education and Cultural Services
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Person to Contact: Alan Crawford, Section Leader, Sports Development, 6/14 Bridge Street, Dumbarton, G82 1NT. Tel: (01389) 737075 e-mail: [email protected]
Background Papers Report on Proposed Increased Swimming Lesson Charges in 2006/2007 – Children’s Services Committee, 15 March 2006
Wards Affected: All wards affected
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