The Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust was established six years ago. Since then it has been able to demonstrate considerable improvements and major investment in Wigan Council’s libraries, archives, museums and leisure centres. The Trust’s most significant investment funding has come from not having to pay business rates. This saving has enabled investment to flow back into services and the Trust saves half a million pounds a year by not having to pay this one cost.
Thanks to the foresight of the Council, Wigan’s charitable Trust has been able to spend an extra £1.5 million over the last five years on providing residents with a more efficient and effective library service, including extended opening hours, new stock provisions and increased partnership projects with schools, health and children’s centres. Benefits for the library service have been evaluated carefully over the last five years through quarterly performance reviews and in library surveys, among other techniques.
A further £350,000 cash injection has paid for two new outreach libraries (having previously not had a new library for 20 years), a new branch library, relocated some libraries into schools, extra stock, funding for a new marketing and branding campaign, plus the appointment of a new project development officer.
Opportunity not a threat
As one of the first cultural trusts in the country, the organisation’s management and Board of Trustees had just one year to prepare for ownership. It was vital that they had people on the Board of Trustees who had specific experience in certain professions such as finance, health and learning, as well as councillors and community representatives. A concordat was set up between the council and the shadow trust whilst the organisation was being established. This established the rules of engagement and ensured that roles and responsibilities were clear.
“Fortunately for us, Wigan’s councillors saw the idea of transferring its leisure and cultural services as an opportunity rather that a threat,” said Pete Gascoigne, Executive Director of Wigan Libraries, Heritage and Arts. “More importantly though, it gave us independence and discretion to use the money how we saw fit.”
Reassuring the workforce that the new structure was a positive step rather than a detrimental one was an important factor, as was establishing a new management team responsible for the day-to-day running of the service and transferring over all 800 frontline staff to the new organisation. That new team has an increased flexibility and a more entrepreneurial management style which enables them to respond quickly to local needs. The establishment of a separate trading company manages the non-charitable services which the trust provides, such as catering across the services the trust provides.
Peter Gascoigne also had some thoughts on whether other councils follow Wigan’s example and go into Trust status. “Whilst it has been the right decision for us, I think it’s important that authorities make that decision in context of their own situation. It’s very easy to think that all your problems will be solved by setting up a Trust, but a whole range of factors have to be in place.
"Much depends upon the size of the organisation and what savings can be released from the business rate. In Wigan’s case, there were minimal savings from libraries; however, libraries have been able to benefit from the exemption of the business rate on our leisure centres, which are also part of Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust’s mandate.
“Wigan’s councillors were very positive about the idea of a Trust and allowing us to invest the savings back into the services. We also appointed an entirely fresh new management team and a diverse and interested Board of Trustees. Also essential was making sure our staff were fully behind the changes. Had all these things not been in place, the outcome could have been very different from the success it has been.”
For more detailed information on Wigan Trust libraries please visit the case study section on the MLA research website.