It was not until the mid-1960s that a few local authorities
began to view their leisure services as a whole rather than as a series
of unconnected separate services.
A major change came when local government was reorganised
in England and Wales in 1974,
and in Scotland in 1974. In the same way that local
authorities had assumed a broad responsibility for ensuring that housing,
education and social welfare needs of the community were met, so there began
to emerge the concept of 'leisure needs' or 'recreation needs' for which
local authorities should have concern.
Three particular points were made by the Association of District
Councils in 1973 in giving evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee
on Sport & Leisure:
1. Leisure Services
are different from other local government functions in that, in England and Wales, they are permissive (that is to
say that local authorities are empowered but not obliged to provide leisure
facilities). In Scotland, provision is mandatory.
2. Until Parliament,
Government and planners accept the place of leisure as an essential ingredient
of life, there will be no clearly-defined or satisfactory provision of recreation
facilities.
3. Another major
difference between leisure services is that most powers are shared between
at least two different levels of local government (this was later affected
by the setting-up of some unitary authorities with their all-embracing responsibilities).
The local authorities make a significant contribution to
delivery, mainly through their community and specialist facilities, their
outreach and development work, and support for voluntary clubs and organisations.
This contribution is particularly important for disadvantaged groups who
would be unlikely to be able to take advantage of facilities and services
offered by the private/commercial sector.
However, sport and recreation service is only one of many
competing service areas in local authorities, and commonly is ranked low
in council hierarchies compared with the statutory services of housing,
education and social services. There is no indication, in national sport
strategy, of how those working in local authorities in sport and recreation
can be supported and helped to raise awareness of the contribution of sport
and recreation to local authorities' concerns and targets.
While the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has
led a multi-agency group in constructing a framework for evaluation of sport
and recreation service, whose purpose is to encourage local authorities
to invest in the service in order to enhance their performance in comprehensive
performance assessments, there is little corresponding support activity
within national sport strategy.
Today local authorities, as the largest providers of most
types of facilities, have owned (and also formally managed) those facilities
which are now subject to Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) for management
and local government is committed to 'Best Value' assessments.
'Best Value' is part of the Government's wider modernisation
programme, aimed at bringing councils closer to their communities, and promoting
the role of councils in community leadership and governance. There is a
statutory duty upon all local authorities to meet the requirements of 'Best
Value' as set out in the Local Government Bill published on 30th September 1998.
The following is an indication of the range of local authority
leisure and recreation services which may be delivered through the departments
of leisure and recreation. These services are provided by various levels
of authorities:
·
County
Councils
·
District
Councils
·
Joint
Provision
·
Unitary
Authorities (with responsibility for all levels, e.g. Calderdale and Kirklees)
·
Parish
Councils (with limited functions and funding):
Arts & Entertainment
