Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration, Councillor Oliver Lewis

Officer: Interim Executive Director Place, Sarah Hayward

Key decision: yes

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To commence the second phase of public consultation on proposed changes to the Libraries service from the following options:

·                 Reduce service hours by 21% across the borough

·                 Outsource all libraries

·                 Hybrid – reduction in service hours (two days per week) to eight libraries and five community run libraries

The Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration (Councillor Oliver Lewis) noted that the last year had been a difficult time for Croydon and its libraries but stated that throughout that time the council had listened to residents and had tried to prevent library closures. To that end, the Cabinet Member was pleased to announce that the option to close libraries had been removed and that the report set out investment of £1.8 million of Community Infrastructure Levy monies in libraries, including a new library in South Norwood and investment in the libraries which were part the focus on the consultation.

Phase Two of the consultation included options of 21% reduction in hours across the service, an outsourcing model and a hybrid model. The full details on the options were set out in the report which asked Cabinet for approval to move to the next phase of the consultation.

It was highlighted by the Cabinet Member that a resident of Shirley, Andy Bebbington, had raised that the table within the appendix included the population of the ward the library was located but that libraries provided a service to more than one ward. Furthermore clarity was provided by the Cabinet Member that the £500,000 savings were required within 2022/23 financial year and not 2021/22, as set out in the report.

The Interim Executive Director Place (Sarah Hayward) highlighted that a huge amount of work had been undertaken by officers and residents to bring forward a report to go to the next phase of consultation.

It was noted by the Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery (Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed) that the report evidenced that the council had actively engaged with residents despite a period of national lockdown. It was highlighted that outsourcing the service would achieve the required savings, but not during the current financial year and questions were asked as to the implications of the options. Further questions were asked about community run libraries as it was noted that the feedback from residents of Broad Green was that the library was well used by the BAME community.

In response, the Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration stated that should the council proceed with outsourcing the services through a partnership agreement then the full revenue savings would be achieved. In terms of community engagement, the Cabinet Member stressed that he hoped that the council could work closely with the communities in the borough; regardless of the final option agreed upon as it was recognised that there was a great amount of value of involving residents in the library service it was hoped that better outcomes for residents could be achieved.

It was noted by the Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) that the report set out that the preferred option, in terms of outsourcing, was a social enterprise or charitable organisation but sought clarification that commercial enterprises would be entitled to participate in the procurement process. Furthermore, the Cabinet Member raised concerns that the country was still operating under Covid-19 restrictions and queried whether this had been factored into future thinking; should libraries be required to close or the contractor went bankrupt. 

In response, the Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration stated that should the council move to a procurement process for a partnership arrangement it would be an open process, but that he hoped that it would be an opportunity to demonstrate the Administration’s values in the partnership and improved outcomes for residents. It was stressed that there would not be a return to a contract like the Carillion library outsourcing which had been badly run.

In terms of planning for possible future restrictions or a contractor going bust, the Cabinet Member stated the council would be seeking assurances that any organisation looking to run the libraries was financially resilient. Furthermore, it was noted that the council would be commissioning a service and so should there be any closures due to restrictions the organisation would still be paid; irrespective of whether the service offered was virtual or face to face.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration (Councillor Gareth Streeter) expressed disappointment that it appeared that the decision, which was due to be made by Cabinet, had already been made as it was reported that labour councillors had tweeted over the weekend in relation to the report. He further noted that there were three options being consulted; all of which would result in job losses. The Shadow Cabinet Member queried how many staff would lose their job or significant proportion of their income.

In response, the Cabinet Member stated that labour members had not been briefed but had read the published reports and were tweeting in response to the report. In terms of job losses, the Cabinet Member confirmed that the council would seek to minimise redundancies by not recruiting to vacant posts to reduce the impact on staff. The Cabinet Member concluded by thanking library staff for their hard work during the pandemic.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To commence the second phase of public consultation on proposed changes to the Libraries service from the following options:

·                     Reduce service hours by 21% across the borough

·                     Outsource all libraries

·                     Hybrid – reduction in service hours (two days per week) to eight libraries and five community run libraries