The External Services/Providers Monitoring Group met to discuss the Live Borders Performance Report for Quarter 1 of 2025-26. The group was also scheduled to review the minutes from their meeting of 3 June 2025.

Live Borders Performance Report

The Director Resilient Communities provided a report that included the Live Borders Performance Report for the first quarter of 2025/26.

The report noted that Live Borders was continuing to face financial challenges, including high energy costs, and that a joint transformation programme was in progress.

The Service Provision Agreement (SPA) between Scottish Borders Council (SBC) and Live Borders, which governs the delivery of services, was last updated in 2016, but is currently being reviewed and updated by both SBC and Live Borders. The SPA includes a Performance Management Framework (PMF) used to monitor the SPA and the delivery of services. The PMF is built around six outcomes that Live Borders, through the SPA, works towards achieving, including:

• Improved mental and physical health & wellbeing for people of all ages with a focus on inclusion.
• Enhanced learning opportunities, training and experiences with a particular focus on reducing inequalities.
• Increased economic benefits to the Scottish Borders through high quality sport and cultural services and events, and support to creative micro-businesses and organisations.
• Enhanced partnerships, pathways and access to a wide range of services and activities within facilities and communities (including structures for talent development).
• Stronger communities through involvement in service planning, delivery and participation.
• Increasingly effective operations and creative approaches to income maximisation across the Trust whilst maintaining appropriate quality and standards.

The report also noted that on 24 April 2025, the council considered a report from independent consultants Integratis, who were tasked by Live Borders and the council to take an objective approach to identifying options which will help deliver accessible, relevant and cost-effective services from a sustainable property estate. At this meeting, the council agreed that the joint transformational change programme should be revised to largely focus on the recommendations from the Integratis report, which were:

• Workforce Alignment.
• Aligning staffing numbers to demand levels.
• Shared Services Model.
• Commercialisation & Pricing.
• Gift Aid & Latent Demand.
• Property Review.

According to the report:

as part of the Property Review recommendation included in the report provided by Integratis, an extensive consultation exercise is currently being undertaken to understand the social impact that some of the proposals for facilities, as recommended by Integratis, will have on communities, along with having 'art of the possible' conversations to understand if there are any other proposals for affected venues that may not have been previously considered. Live Borders have allocated resources to help support this consultation, which is being undertaken jointly with SBC.

The report included a summary of performance in sports facilities and participation, sport memberships, active communities, museums, galleries, archives and visitor attractions, libraries, town halls/events, and corporate matters.

With regard to sports facilities and participation, the report noted that the long-term trend for participation continues to be positive, and shows increasing participation rates annually from 2022/23 onwards. The participation rates include footfall at pools, leisure centres, swimming lessons, pitches, and health programmes.

With regard to sport memberships, the report noted that the youth membership product was launched in November 2023 and it has grown from strength to strength since then. The youth membership is aimed at P7-S6 pupils and covers unlimited swim and gym access and costs £10 per month.

With regard to active communities, the report noted that Live Borders continues to support community centre management committees. The Live Borders pricing policy was updated for 1st April 2025, which provides guidance and sets parameters for management committees to set their prices.

With regard to museums, galleries, archives and visitor attractions, the report noted that one of the proposals in the consultant report was to introduce museum charging (for non-Borders residents). Live Borders Board has taken the decision to focus on increasing donations and gift aid income Donations income for the 2025/26 financial year before considering the introduction of charges.

With regard to libraries, the report noted that online library usage continues to grow through services such as Borrowbox¹ and Pressreader².

With regard to town halls/events, the report noted that a new online halls booking system has been implemented. Previously, booking hall space required often required completion of paper forms and a number of telephone calls before the booking was confirmed. The new system shows the hall/room availability in a calendar view and allows people to book and pay for hire.

Previous Minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 3 June 2025 were provided for review. During that meeting, Graeme McMurdo, Strategic Programme Manager Live Borders, advised that at paragraph 2.2, the Learn 2 (swim programme) membership was stated as being 1,873 whereas the membership was closer to 2,600-2,800.