CSSC London - corporate information

Text of letter dated 17 July 2003 from Marian Holmes, Chief Executive, CSSC

[This letter is also available in PDF format [PDF](20 KB) for downloading and printing.]

Dear Member

ORGANISATIONAL CHANGES WITHIN CSSC LONDON

London Review

CSSC provides a wide variety of sport and leisure opportunities for London members. These have been organised and managed by a number of different bodies, including London Region Council/Executive, Chadwick Street and London Grounds Committee. Following a review* led by Richard Wallace, our Honorary Treasurer, and involving close consultation with the constituent bodies, the Management Committee of CSSC decided to bring together the management of CSRC, London Grounds and the London Region. The Committee felt that it would be in the best interests of all CSSC members in London to have one committee (the London Management Board – LMB), supported by one group of staff, and that this would make better use of volunteer and staff time and expertise, improve communication, extend the number and range of activities and increase participation.

CSRC Chadwick Street

CSSC London Grounds and London Region have already taken the steps necessary to hand over their functions and responsibilities to the LMB. At CSRC an AGM was called for 7 April 2003 but fewer than the necessary 20 members attended. The meeting was then adjourned until 7 May. On that date 11 members voted in favour of, and 6 against, a resolution which would have ended the existence of CSRC as a separate management unit. But the required two-thirds majority was not achieved. At a Special General Meeting on 30 June 2003 the majority in favour of the resolution (17-12) again fell short of the required two-thirds.

CSSC’s Management Committee, whose members are elected either at the national Annual Conference where all affiliated organisations have the right to be represented, or at the AGM open to all CSSC members, is the body responsible for determining and implementing the policy of CSSC. The Committee takes the view that the changes proposed for London must be seen and carried through as a whole. Accordingly, from 25 August 2003 CSSC will operate the premises at Chadwick Street as a CSSC Club. Existing staff will be retained on the same conditions of employment, and the full range of services to members will continue unchanged. Oversight of the management and maintenance will rest with the LMB. This is the same arrangement as now exists at the Clubs at Chiswick and Eltham.

Accountability to CSSC members

At the CSRC AGM and SGM concerns were expressed that the replacement of an elected Management Committee by an appointed London Management Board represented a loss of democratic control. This was an issue that caused concern during the review. However, as evidenced by the attendance at the meetings described above and other examples found during the review, very few members attend meetings under the existing system. The London membership is large and scattered. Establishing how to get information to them and provide an accessible forum for large numbers of them to debate issues or vote on them is not easy. CSSC’s Management Committee therefore decided

a. that it was better, at least in the first instance, to appoint members to the LMB (as already happens in the case of officers in all other CSSC Regions), with the aim of securing both a balance of interests and experience across the wide range of the LMB’s responsibilities, and a balance between new blood and continuity (five members have served on one or more of the 3 previous Committees);

b. to include in the LMB’s remit* a requirement to hold an Annual Open Meeting within four months of the end of the financial year to present an annual report and audited financial statements and discuss items submitted by London members;

c. to endorse the LMB’s proposal that representatives from the LMB should hold open forums at each of the clubs at least 3 times each year. This builds on the new documented comments and complaints procedures that the LMB has introduced at all sites to ensure that staff and management record and respond to members’ views.

London Management Board:

The London Manager is John Butterfield who can be contacted at (020-7233-3855)

The London Management Board has an important role in building on the work done by the members of the three committees it replaces and developing CSSC within London in response to changes in the civil service, the sport and leisure industries, and the expectations of our members.

Yours sincerely

Marian Holmes
Chief Executive

*Both Richard Wallace’s report, and the “Remit, Constitution and Conduct” document for the London Management Board, can be seen on the CSSC London website, www.cssc-london.co.uk/corporate/