EMPLOYEES will sit on the board at Live Borders as a major shake-up of the organisation continues.

The body – which oversees swimming pools, leisure centres, libraries, museums and cultural venues on behalf of the local authority – has experienced significant financial struggles in recent times.

Scottish Borders Council took control of active schools and sports development from the trust at the start of this month.

At Tuesday’s meeting of the executive committee further changes were backed by councillors in a bid to “strengthen and modernise” the governance framework.

The number of Live Borders employees on the board will rise from zero to two, although they will not be able to vote.

The total tally of trustees will fall from a maximum of 15 to nine, with four of them from the council, that figure previously being three.

The quorum, previously set at six, will drop to four, while the nominations committee is to be made up of one independent trustee, one council trustee, one HR specialist and one senior council officer.

Council leader Euan Jardine said the moves represented a “big milestone”.

“This is a very important step,” he said. “This is a big milestone that we have made, reducing the number of trustees but also at the same time increasing what we [the council] have got across the board there.

“For me, employee representation on the board is essential. I think this is a very positive way forward.”

Tweeddale East councillor Julie Pirone said: “I’m really appreciative of the council officers coming in and out and offering advice because I think that will be really important to Live Borders.”

On having employees on the board, she added: “It shows to them that there’s a dramatic change and that their voices are welcome.”

Kelso councillor Simon Mountford asked how the employees would be chosen.

Jenni Craig, director of resilient communities at the council, said it would be spoken about with the staff group. She added that it might rotate annually, with workers nominated each year by their colleagues.

Tweeddale East councillor Marshall Douglas said: “Obviously the number of trustees is nine and the employee representation on the board is not within that nine, so they’re non-voting and non-trustees as such.

“Really, their input is more advisory, for information and almost an observer status.

“How is that seen going forward if they’re not actually trustees?”

The council’s director corporate governance, Nuala McKinlay, said: “On the one hand it’s vitally important that the voices of employees are heard at the board meeting so the employees will have a voice, they will be able to speak, they will be absolved of the responsibility of being a director.

“I think it’s not uncommon in some organisations to have attendees of board meetings who are called non-executive or something of that nature where they don’t have that director responsibility, and that’s the intention.”

Live Borders has experienced “unprecedented challenges” over the past five years, including the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent slow recovery, massively increased utility costs and changes in customer usage trends.

The council has provided it a number of cash bail-outs over the past two years.