| |
Leisure tax windfall won’t go on sports
HUNDREDS of thousands of pounds of savings created after a charity took control of the council’s leisure service will not be used to improve Westminster’s crumbling sports centres.
The Nuffield Trust – a not-for-profit charity which runs hospitals across the country – has replaced the private firm Cannons Leisure.
Cannons paid Westminster £1million a year until 2014 to run its sports centres.
But because Nuffield is a charity it does not have to pay tax, making a saving of £200,000 each year – but just £50,000 of that will go to sports.
Labour councillor Barbara Grahame said: “This windfall should not disappear into the council coffers but be used to give free access to sport and leisure facilities to Westminster residents who currently do not access them.
“This summer Westminster youth workers have had to take young people out of Westminster to swim. Why can’t Conservative Westminster provide sufficient sports facilities?”
Westminster youths recently came bottom in a pan-London Olympic-style tournament. And Muslim women have hit out at the council for not providing women life-guards so that they can go swimming.
Church Street Labour councillor Aziz Toki said: “We know there are scores of women who would like to swim but cannot do so because there are not enough trained women lifeguards. This council windfall could pay to train women lifeguards and pay for women-only swimming sessions.” |
 |
|
| |
| |
