 |
MEDIA RELEASE |
|
WIRRAL LIBRARY SERVICE Councillor Simon Holbrook, Deputy Leader of Wirral Council said: "I welcome the Minister's statement that it would be inappropriate for him to intervene in this matter. His decision means that the future of Wirral's Libraries remains where it should be – with the Council who are accountable to local people for the decisions they take over its future. We withdrew the library closure plans because the delay and uncertainty arising from the Secretary of State's decision to request a local inquiry, and the long length of time taken to hear the outcome, was impacting on budget planning. In addition, having been unsuccessful in challenging Sue Charteris' interpretation of the 1964 Libraries Act, we simply considered the risk of being found in breach of the Act too high for the Council to take. We could not state this at the time because of the obligation of confidentiality imposed on us. The Secretary of State is not commenting on the Charteris report, and we may never know whether he would have found the Council in breach had the closure plan not been withdrawn. In any event, we believe that many of the opinions of Sue Charteris expressed in her report will be superseded by the results of the national consultation on the future of libraries which we understand the DCMS will launch tomorrow. We hope that the Government's consultation on the future of libraries will provide the guidance on the Libraries Act which this inquiry has shown is sadly lacking. In terms of the long term future of Wirral's library service, the Council's immediate financial position looks relatively positive as the recession has removed inflationary pressures from the budget - however this was not the case when we took the libraries decision last year. But it is important to acknowledge that the current position is just the calm before the storm. We all know that the repayment of the national debt will mean big reductions in the amount of money available to local councils in the years ahead, whoever forms the next Government. We will not take any further action in relation to the library service ahead of the completion of the Government's consultation and publication of its guidance. At that time, there should also be greater clarity on the level of funding available to local councils and up to date library guidance to support decision making. We still firmly believe that change is needed to ensure the long term future of the library service. We know the current position is not sustainable in the longer term, but we will recognise the need to build a new consensus on developing a library service that both meets people's needs and is affordable. We will keep all libraries open during this process. There will be the fullest public consultation on the development of any new plans."
|