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ITEM EX11

EXECUTIVE – 10 JUNE 2003

COMMON HALL CAFÉ

Report by the Head of Property and the General Manager, County Facilities Management

Introduction

  1. The Common Hall Café service has been in operation since April 2002, run by County Facilities Management (CFM). The Café replaced the former staff restaurant which provided a full hot food service but became unviable as it required a subsidy of £20,000 per year and was used by few County Council employees or members. Flooding of the kitchen meant that it was no longer possible to provide a service without a "very substantial amount of capital expenditure.

  2. A survey of all staff and members was undertaken to identify the kind of facility, food and beverages which would be most popular. This was used as the basis for what is now the Common Hall Café, providing a range of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, rolls, cakes and confectionary. Additionally CFM provides a Hospitality Service for Officers and Members for meetings and specific functions.

  3. CFM is a trading department of the County Council and all expenditure must be funded from income generated. There is no capital budget available for further investment in the service.

    4. Current Position

  4. Since the introduction of the Café service there have been requests from some officers and members for a wider ranging menu including hot food. A specific request has been made by the Employees Joint Consultative Committee and it was agreed that there would be a further consultation process to ascertain views on the current service and the demand for different types of food including hot snacks.

    5. Consultation

  5. A questionnaire was circulated via the email network to all centrally based staff (those at County Hall, Macclesfield House, Speedwell House, Albion House and the Central Library). Members were provided with a hard copy of the questionnaire. The purpose of the survey was to assess whether customers were satisfied" with the level of service and the quality and range of items on offer, and also to assess the demand for other types of food and drink. Respondents were also asked to comment on the ambience, layout and cleanliness of the room, the standard of customer service and also the service provided for meetings and functions.

  6. One hundred and ninety-nine responses were received out of a total of 900 staff and 75 members who received the email. An analysis of the responses is attached at Annex 1. The full survey results can be seen in the Members' Resource Centre.

  7. The survey shows that overall there is a good level of satisfaction with the service which is provided from the Common Hall Café. Particular points to note are:

    • The room is well used for all its intended purposes i.e. meetings, relaxation and refreshments.

    • There is no overwhelming demand for a hot snack service. Some respondents specifically stated they were against the sale of hot food.

    • There is some dissatisfaction with the range and quality of food provided.

    • The standard of customer service from the staff was seen as good.

    • The meetings and functions service is satisfactory overall but there are aspects which need to be improved.

  1. The survey forms gave the opportunity for other comments to be made. These indicated that some users would like other forms of food to be provided. There were some requests for soup and jacket potatoes but also for fresh salad boxes and a wider range of baguettes.

    2. Conclusions

  2. The Common Hall Café was set up to provide a multi purpose facility and was based on the results of a survey of staff of members. The intention was to provide a good quality room, which would be used for informal meetings, a communal relaxation area, and for the sale of good quality snacks and beverages. There was a specific decision that hot food should not be provided, so as to avoid the associated smells and to keep the expenditure to an affordable and justifiable level.

  3. There is the possibility that in the future the room and the kitchen area will be included within a major refurbishment of the accommodation in Old County Hall as part of an agreement with the Osborne Group, the developers of the Castle site. The intention was to provide a facility in the meantime which would make fuller use of the room but avoid substantial capital expenditure.

  4. There are other outlets for a good range of low cost hot food within 2 minutes walk of County Hall. The nearby Department Stores are able to provide economically a hot food service, which is not viable in County Hall. The cost of installing a hot counter for serving jacket potatoes, soup and snacks would be approximately £4,500. There is already a requirement to install a refrigerated display unit to satisfy Environmental Health regulations.

    5. Financial Implications

  5. In 2002/3 the Common Hall Café operated with a deficit of just under £10,000. The intention is that by the end of 20003/04 it will at least break even. The sale of hot food is very unlikely to produce any additional net income but would require capital expenditure for which there is no available budget.

    6. RECOMMENDATIONS

  6. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

          1. agree that the range of cold snacks currently available in the Common Hall Café be reviewed taking into account comments from the survey of staff and members;

          2. confirm that hot food should not be provided at the Café.

NEIL MONAGHAN
Head of Property

JACKIE HAYES
General Manager, County Facilities Management

Background Papers: Nil

Contact Officer: Jackie Hayes, Tel 01865 336366

May 2003

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