Agenda item

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Communities introduced the report. She stated that the library service had seen significant change since 2011 however in order to find the necessary saving under the current financial plan, of £1million by 2021, further change was necessary. A full review of Worcestershire libraries had been undertaken through an assessment which mapped current provision and looked at the indicators of need in the categories of deprivation, service isolation, exclusive use of the home library and activity levels. Each library had been ranked against the indicators of need and their value for money was assessed.

Various options had been put forward to shape the library service in the future.  A formal consultation would begin on 29 October 2018 until 2 February. Local communities would be actively encouraged to identify local solutions because for most libraries 'no change' was not an option.

During the discussion the following main points were raised:

·       The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills agreed with the public participant that libraries were more than a nice to have and offered a range of services for communities, however he was not worried that the report referred to 'data' as that was needed to help find value for money solutions. He hoped that communities and the voluntary sector could provide ideas for how to shape the library service in future

·       The Cabinet Member for Economy and Infrastructure wished to comment on Tenbury library, within the area he represented. The report recommended that libraries should seek co-location and he had tried to achieve that with the DWP; that had not occurred (apart from a jobs phone) but the CAB now used the same building. He queried the figures which suggested a reduction in the use of Tenbury library and hoped the figures were robust 

·       A Member from outside the Cabinet was concerned at the possible use of unstaffed opening as there could be problems with anti-social behaviour. She felt that co-location should be looked at and volunteers could be encouraged to staff libraries

·       A Member from outside the Cabinet hoped that the recent discussion at the OSPB on the principles of consultation would be taken into account. He felt the volunteers and Trustees in Upton were enthusiastic in providing a service for the community however they had the support of the local Parish Councils who helped to fund the facilities. He hoped the Council would be able to offer help and support on finance and HR issues to any community groups who were considering taking on their local libraries. He also hoped there would be enough to staff to deal with the results of the consultation

·       Members from outside Cabinet were concerned at the ratings allocated to libraries as some were recorded as having no deprivation when the local members felt that was inaccurate for their areas. One Member felt that it should be made clear that some libraries such as Evesham, Kidderminster and Redditch would not be closing and he queried whether if the decision was made to close certain libraries would they then be given time to find a Partner

·       A Member from outside the Cabinet felt that it was not helpful that the consultation information did not provide details on the savings that would be needed or how individual libraries would be affected

·       One member queried the constantly changing policy on libraries as he felt they were a very important resource. He queried as to why it had been suggested that self-service could be increased and opening hours increased when the previous policy from 2013 decreased self-service in Bromsgrove and reduced opening hours. He also cautioned against the feeling that co-location was the answer as Catshill library was moved into a school and was now only open 13 hours a week. There was a worrying lack of strategy as libraries were an important service which could extend opportunities and improve social mobility

·       The Leader responded that there was a clear strategy to work with the community to reform library services to allow the good service in Worcestershire to be able to continue in future. There was a significant financial challenge however they  had robust data to be able to start the consultation

·       The Cabinet Member thanked Library Staff for suggesting ideas, some of which had led to agreements with the DWP and other Partners. In response to the queries she clarified that Acorn figures were used for deprivation figures but some libraries could be looked at individually. There would be meetings with all libraries and the consultations would include all councillors, parishes and districts. They wanted everyone to engage to allow as wide a service as possible to be sustained, and that meant the consultation could not be rushed.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a)     recognised its statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service in Worcestershire;

b)    agreed to continue with the innovation and transformation programme, launched in May 2011, with an updated set of key principles outlined in paragraphs 13 and 14, and continue to work with partner agencies and community groups in order to provide a service within the future Medium-Term Financial Plan envelope;

c)     agreed to the updated set of potential options for library service points as outlined in paragraph 24 and that these be used as the model to shape the future of all library provision in Worcestershire;

d)    noted the headline findings of the Libraries' Needs Assessment and proposed recommendations for the library service delivery offer as outlined in paragraphs 25-32;

e)     authorised the Director of Children, Families and Communities, in consultation with the Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Communities, to finalise consultation documents and commence public consultation and engagement on the proposed options for libraries service points described in paragraph 38; and

f)      would receive a further report following the outcome of the public consultation process in order to reach decisions about the future of relevant libraries.