Hampshire County Council

Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item: 6

24 April 2003

Disability Sports Officer

Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage

Contact: Julie Amies Ext. 6029

1. Summary

The following decision is sought:

That the appointment of a full-time Disability Sports Development Officer be approved.

2. Reason

To improve delivery of advice and support to disability sport in Hampshire in order that more people may participate

3. Other options considered and rejected

None

4. Conflicts of interest declared by the decision maker or a member or officer consulted -

None

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee -

Not applicable

6. Reason(s) for the matter being dealt with if urgent -

Not applicable

Approved by: (Signature) Date: (date of decision)

.................................

Councillor J. Waddington

Hampshire County Council

Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item: 6

24 April 2003

Disability Sports Officer

Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage

Contact: Julie Amies Ext. 6029

1. Summary

1.1 Approval is sought for the appointment of a full-time Disability Sports Development Officer for the County.

2. Background

2.1 Hampshire County Council has worked with a number of partners for over 12 years to provide a disability sports development officer in the county.

2.2 In the early years, the County Council worked in partnership with the British Sports Association for the Disabled (BSAD). This organisation was superceded by the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) and so in more recent years, it has worked with the EFDS, together with additional partnership funding from Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils. On each occasion, a 3 year contract was issued via the respective employer.

2.3 In June 2002, the 3 year contract for the current post came to an end. Due to the incompatibility of working 3 days a week at a strategic level and 1 day a week in each of the respective unitary authorities at a local delivery level, the partners took the decision not to continue funding the work in this way.

2.4 In anticipation of this, an application was made to the Active Communities Fund in December 2001 to bridge this gap but was rejected as there were projects considered of higher priority (Hampshire unfortunately does not have many nationally recognised areas of deprivation and is not therefore considered a priority in the region for such grants).

2.5 The EFDS and the County Council then set about working together to put a funding package in place to continue the work until June 2003. The EFDS contribute £5,000 and Hampshire County Council £14,000 via the partnership funding scheme.

2.6 On current prices, funding was still short by about £3,000. The EFDS made this up through funds carried forward from previous years. However, this will only meet the shortfall for 1 year until June 2003.

2.7 Due to other nationwide commitments the EFDS is not in a position to meet any future shortfalls and is asking the County Council to make up the gap in funding.

2.8 This potential solution is very unsatisfactory as it makes it difficult to plan for this work beyond 12 months not to mention the personnel aspect of having an officer who does not know from one year to the next whether he will still have a position and is continually forced therefore to have an eye to the job market.

3. A way forward

3.1 Having discussed the situation with the EFDS's national development manager, it is felt that the best way to secure the long term development of this work in the county is for the County Council to `mainstream' the post.

3.2 The post holder makes a significant contribution to the work of Active Sports, Education and wider Hampshire County Council objectives. For example, in recent months he has:

· delivered training in disability sport to teachers

· has helped to establish the parallel games to which 18 special schools are already signed up to participate in 2003

· has delivered a pilot equity training session to a leisure centre with whole county coverage planned for 2003. The evaluation was excellent and whole county coverage is planned, with underwriting support from the Hampshire Playing Fields Association in 2003/2004

· has set up disability football session with Southampton and Portsmouth City Football Clubs

· visited schools to raise awareness of participation in disability sport

has ensured that all the Active Sports programmes have equity built into them which has witnessed targets in participation amongst disabled people being surpassed in the first 6 months of the programme. Specifically in 2001/02 the annual target was 3.2 % and the actual 5.3 %. In 2002/03 - the annual target was 3.1 % and the 6 month actual 6.7 %. Furthermore, Basketball in Farnborough and Aldershot was so successful that a club has been formed and is operating on a weekly basis providing opportunities to play amongst disabled people who previously did not take part.

· Organised visits by disadvantaged groups to Calshot

3.3 Undoubtedly, so much progress in participation in sport by disabled people would not have been made without the valuable work of this post. Without this role, it is difficult to envisage how we would continue to build upon this valuable work and continue to increase participation.

4. Financial Implications

4.1 On the basis of the existing scale and at current prices the cost of appointing an officer will range from £18,537 (£21,946 with on costs) to £19,776 (£23,440 with on costs). This would mean a rise in the County Council's current contribution of £8,000 and £9,000. This could be met from the respective partnership funding and sports development budgets.

5. Personnel issues

5.1 The post will be included in the work force plan and will be subject to the role profiling exercise that is currently taking place across the County Council.

5.2 The post holder is supported by a part time administrative worker who is employed by Scout Enterprises and funded via central government.

Recommendation

That the post of Disability Sports Officer be appointed.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

Published works

Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE LOCATION

Detailed grant application forms Sports Service

Arts, Sport & Community

Mottisfont Court

Winchester