Cognisant of the current financial climate, Dave McHendry, Principal Consultant urges providers to get creative and to work smarter and more efficiently; getting the most from partners and addressing pricing and income generation to offset pressure on subsidy levels.

As we all know, local authorities, regardless of the outcome of the imminent general election, will face huge financial pressures over the coming years. Given sport and leisure's usual position at the back of the queue, there is a need to think smarter about how efficiencies are achieved without compromising service.

The smarter local authorities and trusts have already aligned their sport and leisure services with health, inclusion and community cohesion partners; and through the provision of accurate management information and intelligence, are inextricably linked to the delivery of a wider range of objectives. These agencies are in a better position to fight their corner by demonstrating the ‘gearing' of their subsidy and what will be lost by making sweeping cuts to the service.

However, what about those with no other alternative but to face the chopping block? In these situations, the knee jerk reaction of local authority and trust providers is to tighten their belts and consider efficiencies in relation to staff reductions, minimising equipment replacement, reducing the frequency of maintenance works, cutting back on capital investment and reducing opening hours.

Local authorities may also consider the savings (VAT and NNDR) that can be achieved from providing the service through an alternative management model (e.g. trust, private partner). And so the thought process goes on......

Little focus is given to aggressively addressing income generation at facilities. This, in part, is excused by the historical nature of programmes, which in many circumstances cannot, over pain of death, be significantly changed.

Those that can see the opportunities from improvements in income, need to address some of these programming issues. Why not:

• Re-align swimming clubs to quieter periods such as Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.
• Cluster swimming lessons within a shorter window within the programme by having more lessons per hour across the whole pool; rather than instructors fighting to be heard over the noise of the general swim.
• Co-ordinate sports hall activities to minimise or eliminate the need for staff to undertake changeovers.
• Create and promote opportunities for residents to participate in a wide range of activities rather than just hiring spaces.

In addition, management teams need to think creatively about other opportunities to maximise income. These could include:

• The ability to sign up online for fitness direct debit membership.
• The re-programming of some swimming lessons to Sunday afternoons rather than closing early.
• The provision of adult lane swimming during the drive time home for some evenings (where swimming lessons are not programmed).
• Be more aggressive on pricing for key activities where affordability may not be an issue; rather than a standard approach to price increases.

It's time for the industry to get more creative about how it creates income generation opportunities as there is a finite point at which cost savings can continue beyond.