Hampshire County Council

Executive Member for Policy and Resources Item 6

9 April 2008

Approval for Allocation of Contingency to Recreation and Heritage

2008-09

Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage and County Treasurer

Contact: Stuart Dorward, Tel: ext. 6110 e-mail: [email protected]

Bevis Ingram, Tel: ext 7508 e-mail: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 The County Council's approved budget for 2008/09 includes a contingency of £626,000 to address a range of pressures, and this report seeks approval to the allocation of £250,000 to Recreation and Heritage to enable service developments in support of the corporate priorities.

2. Recommendation

2.1 That £250,000 be allocated from the contingency to Recreation and Heritage in 2008/09, on a recurring basis, to enable the service developments outlined in this report.

3. Proposed Allocation

3.1 The County Council's approved budget for 2008/09 includes a contingency of £626,000 to cover unfunded budgetary pressures. The report to Cabinet on 8 February identified £500,000 of such pressures, of which £250,000 related to Recreation and Heritage. It was agreed that allocations from the contingency would be approved by the Executive Member for Policy and Resources. This report identifies how it is proposed to deploy the £250,000, and seeks approval for the allocation of that resource.

4. Using the Resources - Meeting Corporate Priorities

4.1 This section of the report identifies how the proposed allocation would be used in support of the County Council's corporate priorities. The proposed uses are:

Sunday opening in Libraries £50,000

Currently, 3 libraries (Basingstoke, Havant and Winchester Discovery Centre) are open on Sundays, and this allocation would enable both Aldershot and Andover libraries to open on Sunday. As a consequence library opening hours would be better suited to the needs of users. This will continue the progress the service is making in extending opening hours.

Home Library Service £70,000

This service, which is delivered through a combination of volunteers and library staff, is at present uneven in its coverage of the county. It is intended to use the extra resources to establish the role of a County Co-ordinator who can expand the reach of the service and also raise the standard of it to a consistently high level throughout the county, through the more effective recruitment and management of volunteers.

Rights of Way £50,000

The County Council is responsible for maintaining some 7,300 rights of way: this allocation would enable an improvement in the level of maintenance of the rights of way network. The County Council is committed to continue to improve access to the countryside, and promotes walking, riding and cycling as sustainable ways of enjoying the countryside. This allocation represents an increase of approximately 50% in the budget for routine maintenance.

Outreach for Young People £30,000

The Arts, Museums and Outdoor services are already providing services targeted at young people - an example being Creative Hampshire. It is intended to extend this work to Country Parks, town centre libraries and Community Centres, and some of this will be to develop support for vulnerable young people, particularly those in care. Growing our offer of positive activities to young people is a fundamental objective of the services in the Recreation and Heritage Department.

Well-being/Adult Learning £50,000

The intention is to grow the range of adult learning opportunities in libraries, arts centres and community centres. This aspect of the service will be particularly for older learners enabling them to remain mentally and physically active within their community.

5. Impact Assessment

5.1 The proposals in this report are derived from the departmental service plan and are in accordance with the budget strategy and the County Council's financial management policy. An impact assessment of the departmental service plan and the financial management policy has been carried out and the proposals in this report are not considered to be discriminatory.

6. Summary

6.1 The allocation of the £250,000 would support all the County Council corporate priorities and would benefit both specific sections of the population and more generally the people of Hampshire.

Links to Corporate Strategy

Yes No

Hampshire safer and more secure for all _

Maximising well-being _

Enhancing our quality of place _

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.

N.B. the list excludes:

1. Published works.

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

TITLE LOCATION

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