Public performance reports

The council has an important role to play in promoting the health, wellbeing, and learning environment of the population of South Lanarkshire. This is achieved through the provision of community learning and recreational activities within our museums, libraries and arts centres, and through the promotion of healthier lifestyles via our sports and leisure centres and outdoor recreation. These services are delivered by South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture (SLLC) which was set up in 2010 to operate leisure and culture services on behalf of the council.

More information about SLLC, including the SLLC Annual Report, can be found via the following link SLLC - About us.

SLLC is responsible for the operation and management of indoor leisure facilities, including swimming pools, an ice rink, and athletics tracks. Through its development work, the service aims to increase opportunities for individuals to get engaged in physical activity. This is achieved through working in local schools and communities, in partnership with clubs, volunteers, sports councils and national governing bodies.

There are a number of indicators collected and reported that show the extent to which our facilities are being used:

Satisfaction with leisure facilities

SLLC saw an improvement of 1.7% to 69.7% on previous year satisfaction rates taken from the household survey, it should be noted that the household survey does not necessarily mean those completing the survey have used our services.  SLLC conducted a Customer Satisfaction Survey in 2022/23 to assess actual service delivery, nearly 3,000 customers responded (12% of members across services), with very positive feedback saying - service delivery 95%, staff performance 97% and value for money 95%.

Outdoor recreation and country parks

SLLC is also responsible for outdoor country parks and outdoor learning and adventure, including sports pitches, an indoor synthetic pitch, bowling greens, golf courses, a water sports centre and seasonal activities.

SLLC manage the library service, all with ActiveIT Learning Centres (free internet access). We also provide reference and enquiry services, family history and genealogy resources, and online library services. Working in partnership with key stakeholders to improve the learning experience for children and young people, the service makes a significant contribution to the Curriculum for Excellence agenda. 

SLLC directly manages Low Parks Museum which includes Hamilton Mausoleum. However, like the library service, the work of the museum service extends further than this: from working closely with schools in the provision of learning programmes and activities off site, to informal learning opportunities provided through holiday activities, family activities, adult learning and special events. The museum collection includes 150,000 objects which feature in temporary and permanent exhibitions.

Satisfaction with libraries and museums

SLLC saw an improvement of 0.6% to 66.3% on previous year satisfaction rates taken from the household survey, it should be noted that the household survey does not necessarily mean those completing the survey have used our services.  SLLC conducted a Customer Satisfaction Survey in 2022/23 to assess actual service delivery, nearly 3,000 customers responded (12% of members across services), with very positive feedback showing satisfaction with service delivery at 95%, staff performance at 97%, and value for money at 95%.

SLLC is responsible for the management of cultural venues including: The Town House Hamilton, Rutherglen Town Hall, East Kilbride Arts Centre, Village Theatre East Kilbride, and Lanark Memorial Hall.  As well as the major venues, SLLC manages community halls and centres; community wings; community managed halls and integrated community facilities.

Performance is generally measured through a programme of internal auditing, undercover mystery visits, through general customer feedback and via our more formal ‘Have Your Say’ comments and complaints policy. Excellent communication processes are imperative to ensure we are fully aware of our customer needs/expectations to allow the appropriate service delivery moving forward.  Health and Safety updates/visits continue to be undertaken to ensure standards are maintained and services are safe to operate.

External verification of the standards of our facilities and the service we deliver is further evidenced through VisitScotland awards. VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourist board. Working closely with private businesses, public agencies and local authorities. VisitScotland provides quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to industry partners to help the industry meet - and strive to exceed visitors' expectations. SLLC have 7 accredited sites.

There were 145 formal complaints recorded throughout the year. Over 97% of all issues raised were resolved at our frontline with only 4 escalating to ‘stage 2’ of our process. The top 5 areas of concern to customers were based around programming 27 (18.6 %), communication 16 (11%), maintenance 15 (10.34%), booking process 14 (9.65 %) and customer behaviour 12 (8.27%).

SLLC conducted an online customer satisfaction survey during 2021-22 to gauge customer perception of our services overall. 1,037 responses were completed with 95% (985) highlighting they were very satisfied or satisfied with service delivery and 89% (922) said they would recommend SLLC to a friend. 96% (824) felt healthier, happier and better overall following their visit. This feedback has confirmed that SLLC are focusing services to customer needs and reaffirms the resolve to develop health improvement programmes further.

SLLC has developed a new strategy for 2022-2027. This strategy will complement the Council Plan Connect which outlines the council’s priorities and outcomes for 2022-27.

• SLLC - About us
• SLLC Annual Report 
• SLLC Business Plan 

In addition to the above key documents, Resource Plans are prepared each year by all Resources to outline the key developments they intend to take forward in the year. Performance and actions relating to leisure and culture services can be found in the Community and Enterprise Resource Plan.

Twice a year, performance reports are presented to council committees on progress against the Resource Plans. In addition, reports detailing progress against the Council Plan Connect Outcomes are prepared. See Quarter 2 (September) and Quarter 4 (March - year end) performance reports for further information.

More information on our outcomes can be found in the Council Plan Connect and also the Annual Performance Spotlights.

Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) allows councils to work together, to use performance information in a way which will help understand variations, share knowledge, expertise and good practice, with a view to making improvements. For more information and links relating to this framework go to the 'Benchmarking' paragraph on the Improvement and how we compare page on our website.

The information contained within this report reflects the position based on the data available at the time of publication (March 2024)