Foreword Kirsty Hunter | Chief Executive
I
am delighted to present our annual report for 2020/21 and very proud of all our colleagues who have worked in challenging circumstances to safely close down and successfully restart culture, sport and leisure services - virtually and in person - during a most unusual year for everyone both professionally and personally. I would also like to recognise the significant contribution of our Board of Directors who freely gave their time and skills on a very regular basis throughout the pandemic. In what has been a particularly turbulent period, the Board provided strategic direction and ensured strong governance of the charity. Our team’s resilience and ability to adapt, as restrictions and guidance evolved, meant local communities and visitors to Angus once again had the opportunity to participate in our healthy, active and creative activities and events.
Prior to the pandemic, ANGUSalive had successfully delivered the Management Fee savings requested over the 3 year period to 2020/21. It is anticipated further savings will be required in subsequent years based on the Council’s medium to long term financial planning assumptions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed our wider operating environment and customer expectations. It has also had a detrimental impact on the ability of the charity to operate and generate income, as it has for many other organisations.
The charity had indicated prior to the pandemic, that culture, sport and leisure services would need to be creatively reimagined by the Council and ANGUSalive working in partnership to realise additional savings in future years.
Close partnership working with Angus Council has therefore been vital and we are grateful for the Council’s commitment to the ongoing payment of the Management Fee, which has been essential to maintain the charity as a going concern. Finding a solution for ANGUSalive to operate within a sustainable budget position over the longer term, given the new reality, is going to be crucial to the charity’s future survival and we are committed to working within the financial envelope available.
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To support this process, the outcomes, priorities and expectations of the local community, the Council, as well as other local and national partners need to be understood since these services play such an important role in the lives of our customers across all areas of the charity. Angus Council has therefore approved the ‘ANGUSalive Transformation Project’ in its capacity as commissioning body and sole member of the organisation. This project is currently being progressed to develop proposals, including new ways of working and opportunities for future growth.
