Abstract
This paper reviews recent work on community asset transfers (CAT): a transfer of management of facilities from the public sector to the third sector, largely led by volunteers. The emergence of CATs is placed in the context of the development of community organisations and their relation to the state. Transfer has been stimulated by cuts in local government budgets since 2010. The review focusses on leisure facilities because these are non-statutory and so more vulnerable to cuts in public expenditure. The experience of CATs is reviewed, including: the motivations of local government and volunteers; the transfer process and management of CATs post-transfer; and the market position of facility types. The methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks used in research are contrasted; in particular, how these have balanced agency and structure in analysing a contested neoliberalist discourse. The practicalities of research in this area are considered before concluding with research questions.
Highlights
This paper provides a comprehensive literature review of research into community asset transfer (CAT) of leisure and cultural facilities since 2010, leading to research questions
Community asset transfers are community-based organisations (Aiken et al 2011) which have emerged in response to cuts in public expenditure since 2010
The 2011 Localism Act formalised this by giving community groups a right to bid to take over community assets, and to challenge the local authority to take over public services
Summary
This paper provides a comprehensive literature review of research into community asset transfer (CAT) of leisure and cultural facilities since 2010, leading to research questions. Community asset transfers are community-based organisations (Aiken et al 2011) which have emerged in response to cuts in public expenditure since 2010 They involve a transfer from local government management to management by volunteers. The academic review was complemented by a structured discussion of policy makers that provided leads to recent survey work and other ‘grey literature’ These sources inform the following sections of the paper. The review material is used to describe the political and economic context This helps understand influences on discourses describing volunteering, public leisure services, and government policy. A fifth section describes the experience of CAT, including: motivations of local government and volunteers, managing transfer, and changes in facility services and delivery.
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