Allison predicts a third of public sector operators will thrive, a third will survive and a third will cease to be
The shape of the sector in terms of facilities will look very different in a few years time from how it did before the pandemic.
We’ve already seen a few councils take the decision to bring their sport and leisure services back in house. Such a process must start with being very clear on the need for the service, the purpose of the service, the audience, the outcomes they want to achieve, the degree of influence and control the council wants to apply to how it operates and the financial objectives: whether they want to make a return on investment or are prepared to subsidise it to achieve certain social returns on the investment.
If we want to avoid unnecessary additional turbulence in the system it will require councils to be more realistic in terms of investing in value and not just focusing on the price of contracts. Equally, it will require all operators, including those in-house, to change how they work to achieve better social value, particularly in terms of addressing health inequality, rather than just health improvement. This will require far greater collaboration and much better leadership.
As a whole, the sector tends to be weaker at meeting the needs of those least well-off and with the biggest health needs, irrespective of the management model, so while we’ve been improving some people’s health, we’ve actually been making health inequalities worse.
While better off, white, able men are generally well served by all the management models, families and individuals living with multiple deprivations are generally poorly served by all the models excepting the more socially-minded trusts and some in-house services, where councils see the value not just the price.
The driver of inclusive service is not necessarily the management model but things such as the quality of managers providing the service, the quality of the client, the quality of both the specification and the contract and above all the quality of leadership across both.
The public sport and leisure sector is inevitably going to be reshaped by the pandemic, just as every other part of the economy will be reshaped. My prediction is it could be reduced by 20-30 per cent as an overall outcome.
The public sport and leisure sector is inevitably going to be reshaped by the pandemic, just as every other part of the economy will be reshaped
My experience of the sector shows it handles change in thirds. A third will relish the opportunity to change, reinvent itself, respond positively to the new landscape and build back better and fairer. A third will drag their feet and adapt slowly and incrementally. A third will resist change altogether and hang on to the hope that everything will go back to normal soon. This third will not be part of the future.
The third which will disappear will not be a result of the management model: it is the quality of management and leadership that will dictate the outcome. I don’t, therefore, believe there will be a rush back to in-house that will impact the sector; it will be their own ability and willingness to change that will dictate their future.