£5m loss of income for Fife Sports Trust as a result of lockdown

The operator of Fife’s leisure centres is furloughing more than 500 staff as they face a minimum 12-week lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus.

The trust closed all of its facilities on March 18 and chief operating officer Wendy Watson warned the shutdown will have a very serious impact, particularly as the trust had already cut opening hours at a number of its swimming pools and sports centres due to budget pressures.

She said the operator believes it can furlough 288 contracted staff and 221 casuals, meaning the Government would pay 80 per cent of their wages and allow bosses to recover £758,000.

But Mrs Watson said it could take months for customers to return to using the leisure centres in the numbers they were before the shutdown.

She said: “The trust has recently rolled-out a Fife-wide service redesign programme which saw a change to operating hours to a number of our facilities. This was brought about due to the financial pressures of the reduction in management fee the trust receives from Fife Council.

“The impact of closure so soon after this very challenging period for the trust means we are working hard to get the organisation in a good position to open doors and begin the very important work of getting people active and delivering the health and wellbeing benefits of physical activity for local communities.

“Our teams are currently working on ways to minimise costs, maximise customer retention and protect the health of our staff and customers.

“The trust is facing a minimum 12-week lockdown with a complete loss of generated income and will see incomes impacted for the full financial year. Our estimated loss of income for this financial year will be £4.894m.

“We are working positively in partnership with Fife Council, our sole member, and are actively engaged in constructive dialogue to see what support is available to help the trust through this difficult period.

“We are pursuing the National Job Retention Scheme (furloughing staff) and we believe we can furlough up to 288 contracted staff and 221 casuals, up to the currently defined national furlough period. This would give a recovery value of £758,000.

“As a charitable trust, the organisation is dependent on the support of its customers in order to continue to deliver facilities and programmes for local communities, and, we have been working hard to support those who would normally attend our facilities by uploading weekly fitness sessions on social media.”

She added: “We want local communities to know we are still here to help them stay active and enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of physical activity during these difficult times.”

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