Macclesfield Conservatives are calling for honesty from Cheshire East Council on the future of local libraries. It comes after Labour and Independent councillors voted in July for proposals that achieved up to £165k less in savings than the Labour/Independent-run council agreed when it set its budget in February 2024.
The decision means that further savings will need to be agreed by the Environment and Communities Committee before the end of this financial year to ensure it stays within its budget.
This has significant implications for decisions currently being made by several parish councils, including Bollington Town Council. They are undertaking local consultations to consider potentially co-funding their libraries but they don’t have the full information about these further cuts.
Jon Weston of Bollington Conservatives said:
"It is important that parish councils have clear information about all of the changes to libraries, and not just the ones that have been agreed so far."
At the committee's September meeting, Conservative councillor Dr Chris O'Leary questioned when the Labour/Independent administration would bring forward the necessary additional savings and to confirm whether further cuts would be made to local libraries. The committee chair ignored refused to answer the question, or give any assurance about the future of local libraries.
Cllr Chris O'Leary said:
"It is no wonder that the Council has a projected overspend of £26.5m this year, when Labour and Independent councillors ignore their own budget and ignore the advice of the Chief Finance Officer.
But the decision of these councillors means that further cuts to our libraries will be necessary to avoid an overspend this year and in future years. Cheshire East Council needs to be honest and open with residents about where and when these additional cuts will fall."
ENDS
Notes
The Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024 to 2028 agreed by a majority at the Full Council meeting on 27th February 2024 includes £365k of savings in 2024/25 and a further £250k in 2025/26 for the library service.
At its meeting on 18th July 2024, the Council's Environment and Communities Committee agreed to consult upon a libraries strategy that will see a tiered library service being introduced across the borough. The report presented to committee makes clear that the changes will result in a saving of between £200k and £300k, well short of the cuts required in the Council's budget.
The Council's s151 officer (the Chief Financial Officer) states clearly in the report to committee members that the proposals do not comply with the budgetary requirements approved by Full Council and that further in-year cuts will need to be made. No further proposals were brought forward at the July meeting, or at the subsequent meeting of the committee in September. At the September meeting the committee's reported overspend included £165k overspend relating to libraries.
At its meeting scheduled for 14th November 2024, the Environment and Communities Committee is expected to receive a report on the outcome of the consultation on the libraries strategy. It is expected that the required further cuts to library services will be presented as part of this report.
Photo: Barnett Library Service 2015.
