What's in a name?

Culture and Sport Glasgow wants to be thought of as a forward-thinking charity, not former council department

By Bridget McConnell

The public purse is down to its last few pennies. The talk now is of the Big Society, delivering services in different ways, with the recipients of services being asked to contribute to their success. In Glasgow, the public sector has been leading the way, devolving former council structures to new limited liability partnerships or, as in the case of the former cultural and leisure services department, establishing a charitable company to deliver services.

Culture and Sport Glasgow (CSG) was created on April 1, 2007. Some 2,500 staff transferred to the new organisation and, with an annual budget of almost £100 million, it immediately became one of Scotland's largest charities. There was much consternation. Detractors feared the city was “selling off the family jewels”, given that CSG would manage one of Europe's finest civic art collections, as well as running community and sports facilities, libraries and major city events. Others argued it was privatisation by the back door, usurping the democratic oversight with an independent board deciding on policy, rather than a council committee.

Three years on, the accusations have subsided, but changing the perception of former council department to forward-thinking charity remains difficult. Cuts of £3.4 million in the current year have led to industrial action as we attempt to slash the annual £3 million overtime budget and introduce more flexible working.

However, we have been successful. As a charitable company we have saved £19.2 million in business rates in the past three years, reducing the service fee and financial burden to Glasgow City Council and, ultimately, to the taxpayer. If we had not been an independent charity, the council would have had to meet the costs, resulting in jobs and services cuts of £21.45 million – or about 1,000 jobs, a third of our entire workforce.

Freed from the legal constraints of being part of a local authority, CSG has been able to raise funds from trusts, private individuals and companies in a way prohibited by many covenants. Donations are up from £70,000 in 2006/07 to £254,000 in the past year. Sponsorship is up from £134,000 in 2007/08 to £554,000 in the past year - all despite the impact of the global economic crisis. A total of £2.25 million has been raised from sponsorship, donations and voluntary income over the past three years, against our initial target of £1.2 million.

By increasing our own fundraising efforts, we can ease the burden on Glasgow City Council and reduce our dependence on grant funding. This has never been more important. CSG is about more than our major museums, such as Kelvingrove and the Burrell Collection. Our services help to transform lives, be it teaching adults to read and write, or helping older people to get out of their homes and take part in physical activity. As budgets shrink, we will have to refocus our efforts to ensure they are delivering for the people of Glasgow - and we will have to demonstrate their effectiveness to government at local and national level.

Our staff, as ever, are our most important asset. Again, it has not been easy to change the perception of people who have spent much of their working lives as part of a local authority. But our sickness absence levels are a good indication that things are moving in a positive direction. In 2007/08, the sickness absence rate was 5.14 per cent. It is now 3.61 per cent that, in an organisation the size of ours, equates to about an extra 25 staff.

A major rebranding exercise is due to be rolled out in the coming months. Our services are so diverse - from swimming classes to Hogmanay celebrations - that our identity did not provide an umbrella that said they were linked. Our new brand will do that. But much more than that, it will underpin our vision: it will enable someone in one of our 34 libraries to access information on an exhibition at one of our 10 museums. Over time, linkages will be made which will further increase participation in our services.

Glasgow has transformed itself in recent years. During the past two major recessions, the city invested in its cultural heritage to radically alter the perception of the post-industrial grime that enveloped the city during the late 70s and early 80s. The Glasgow's Miles Better campaign came just before the opening of the Burrell Collection in 1983. The city then embraced the European City of Culture title in 1990 - 20 years on, we are still benefiting from its legacy. As another economic crisis begins to bite, Glasgow is in a good position to emerge more positively at the other end. Our new £74 million Riverside Museum, designed by Zaha Hadid, is taking shape on the site of a former shipyard on the banks of the Clyde and sports facilities are springing up in the East End of the city as we count down the days to Glasgow hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

The challenges remain for a city that has suffered its fair share of recessions and public sector cuts. But Glasgow has stolen a lead. The city understands that what is important is the quality of the services that are on offer, not necessarily the organisation providing them. Our charitable status offers an opportunity to be more flexible, to adapt quickly to changes and ensure that, despite the threats, we can continue to provide life-enhancing services to the people of Glasgow and beyond.

28 May 2010

Bridget McConnell. Chief Executive, Culture and Sport Glasgow