A discount leisure card for those on low incomes lost four-fifths of its card holders over 20 years.

The Passport to Leisure scheme offers discounts on sports and leisure activities for people on benefits, students and those over 60. But, according to a council report, membership has decreased from more than 20,000 in 1990 to just 4,000 now. And this figure was an estimate because no electronic records were kept of cardholders.

Last night, councillors on the Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee asked why no-one had spotted problems with the scheme before.

Councillor Hawarun Hussain (Green, Shipley) said: “I was really surprised to hear we had a more than 80 per cent fall in users in the past 20 years, which in any other service would be red-flagged from here to eternity.”

Councilor Andrew Thornton, executive member for sport, agreed the scheme needed updating. He said: “Clearly we can acknowledge the shortcomings of the current system. It is a paper-based system in a digital age.”

Despite a report being sent to the committee saying one of three options was to scrap the scheme, Coun Thornton said it would not be axed.

He said: “We have not, and have never been, considering scrapping Passport to Leisure.”

Phil Barker, Assistant Director of Leisure Services, said the option of axeing the scheme had been put to the committee on a technicality. He said: “I’m giving you the options. We put it down just for completeness, really.”

The meeting heard how there were a few options to develop the scheme, including issuing ‘smart cards’ which would keep electronic data on cardholders. Mr Barker said while the core aim of the card scheme was to offer discounts to those on low incomes, some options involved creating a card which anyone could buy, perhaps as part of a loyalty scheme at council gyms, swimming pools or other facilities.

Other ideas involved opening out the scheme to private sector businesses such as restaurants and cafes.