Agenda item

Report of the Strategic Director – People

The Chair reported that 172 petition forms, containing 262 names, had been submitted “calling upon Sefton Council to make sure that Churchtown Library stays open following the review of the library service.  Churchtown Library is an efficient, friendly library and is a vital part of our community.” In accordance with the Council and Committee Procedure Rules, Councillor Ashton made a statement on behalf of the petitioners.

Further to Minute No. 104 of the meeting held on 16 February 2012, the Cabinet then considered the report of the Strategic Director – Place, which provided an update on the Library Service Review, including the public engagement findings and options for consideration emerging from the review.  At this stage the report sought approval to consult communities, partners, key stakeholders and employees, as appropriate, on the options and to report back the outcome of the consultations prior to any consideration by Council.

The report contained the following annexes:

Annex A          “Comprehensive and efficient” and details of the Wirral Inquiry

Annex B          Library engagement questionnaires

Annex C         Summary of public engagement findings

Annex D         Summary table of costs and usage of libraries

Annex E          Sample of comparator data

Annex F          Maps of Sefton’s population

Annex G         Summary table of socio-economic data

Annex H          Libraries ranked on key indicators

Annex I            List of background documents available to view on-line

Annex J          Options considered but not recommended at this stage

The Strategic Director – Place indicated that the report provided an extensive summary of the work undertaken during the review of the library service and further details of the extensive background information were available on the Council’s website. The report sought approval to commence public consultations on the preferred option at this stage and the Public Engagement and Consultation Panel would be requested to approve the public consultation process at its next meeting.

Councillor P. Dowd referred to the challenge which the Council had in achieving £43.7 million of savings over the next two financial years and indicated that all service areas had to be examined for potential financial savings, prior to a balanced budget for 2013/14 been approved by the Council on 28 February 2013. He indicated that it was originally intended that the details of the review of the library service would be included in the report on potential savings options which had been submitted to the last Cabinet meeting but he had requested that a separate stand alone report on the review be submitted to this meeting to ensure that the details were more transparent.

Members of the Cabinet raised questions on the following issues referred to in the report and Officers responded to the issues as referred to below:-

Councillor P. Dowd referred once again to the massive budget savings of £43.7m which had to be achieved and indicated that it was not easy for elected members to have to look at closing Council services, especially library services but some difficult decisions would have to be made in the near future in order to achieve a balanced budget. He hoped that members of the public would participate in the public consultation exercise and submit their views on the options available for the delivery of the library service and any alternative budget savings options they may have. All of the feedback from the consultation exercise would be considered and taken into account by Members before a final decision was taken.

This was a Key Decision and was included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

Decisions Made:

(1)       the petition be noted;

(2)       the outcome of the local needs analysis, including the results from the public engagement exercise, resulting in options for a new model of delivery for a modern, sustainable, comprehensive and efficient Sefton Library Service be noted;

(3)       it be noted that all figures in the report are working assumptions in relation to the options to be considered and the figures should not be seen as predetermining any decisions;

(4)       it be agreed that the review process described in the report has been a robust process;

(5)       the general definition of a “comprehensive and efficient” library service for Sefton described in paragraph 2.3 of the report be approved;

(6)       the risks identified within the report be noted;

(7)       the option appraisal criteria set out in the report be approved and it be noted that they are influenced by previous Secretary of State/Judicial Review considerations and intervention;

(8)       Option B set out in the report be approved as the basis for consultation and engagement with the community, staff, partners, including businesses, voluntary, community and faith sectors, to transform the way Sefton delivers its library service;

(9)       it be noted that the equality implications would be thoroughly assessed in line with the Council’s Equality Impact Assessment process, should Members agree that the proposed option be taken forward at a later date; and

(10)     the potential mitigating actions identified to date be noted and that further work on Sefton’s Library Service offer, including the possible mitigating actions, be developed.

Reasons for Decisions:

This report provided an update on the Library Service Review and sought approval to commence consultation on options. Early consideration of potential budget options continued to be essential as this would lead to informed decision making, including the consideration of the outcome of any consultations undertaken, the impact of any decisions to be made and any steps that can be taken to mitigate the impact of a decision.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

In developing options, Officers have considered the approach other library authorities are taking across the country as they too are impacted by reductions in resources.  Some Public Library Authorities are proposing new models which include:

·                    the part or whole replacement of staff by volunteers;

·                    closure of libraries with buildings being handed over to community groups;

·                    reducing the number of service points, reconfiguring the network and developing alternative service models;

·                    cutting opening hours across all libraries;

·                    replacing static buildings with additional mobile services;

·                    out-sourcing support and infrastructure services to commercial companies;

·                    commissioning services from other agencies, including other public library authorities;

·                    “friends of” groups raising funds external to council revenue.

The report identified elements of the above within the options for consideration.  The options from the above list that relate to alternative methods of governance are complex.  They would need time to evaluate and implement and most would need a lot of specialist legal support.  Exploratory discussions had taken place which had indicated that the level of external support (e.g. volunteers) for taking over the full operation of individual libraries is very limited.  Therefore, such proposals were not recommended to move forward at this stage.  However, any partnership methods of service delivery would be investigated further.  More detailed information about this was contained in Annex J of the report.