West Lothian community centres given more time to look at funding plans

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Community centre management teams will have another month to explore potential future funding plans including increasing charges as part of wider budget cutbacks aiming to save £1m.In an update to councillors the head of Housing Customer and Building Services Julie Whitelaw said that the revised saving plans which were scheduled to come to the council Executive in early March would be pushed back to the April meeting.A meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources PDSP heard this will give more time to look at alternative funding sources.

It was welcomed by John Sivis representing the Joint Forum of Community Councils speaking on behalf of community centre management teams which had contacted the Forum.And SNP group leader Janet Campbell asked why the update was necessary at all given the assurances council leader Lawrence Fitzpatrick had given to this local community council this week that no centres would be lost.In May last year the council went to management committees of all community centres with three options for the future in the bid to save more than £1m.The three options were 1 - Transfer of ownership under Community Asset Transfer (CAT). * 2: Full Repairing and Insuring lease agreements (FRI lease). * 3: Recharging operating costs to Community Centre Management Com (default arrangement).To date only two management committees - Winchburgh and West Calder - have chosen the first option, four have chosen the second and two the third.

The majority of the 29 who have responded - 12 - have chosen alternative solutions.These solutions included the establishment of arms length organisations to run the centres and phased implementation of changes and introduction of costs.Councillors heard that none of these solutions