Agenda item

Report of the Head of Communities (SC/23/4) outlining proposals for the future of the mobile library service, attached.

An Impact Assessment has also been prepared for members at the meeting. It is available on the website at Impact Assessment on Mobile Libraries and the alternative offers and is attached.

RESOLVED that Option 2, as outlined in the Report, to ‘Decommission the Mobile Library vehicles and provide £25K transition support for vulnerable users to continue to access alternative library provision’ be approved.

(Councillors Connett, Gent, Whitton and Wrigley attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Head of Communities (SC/23/4) outlining proposals for the future of the mobile library service circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

Through Libraries Unlimited, the Council provided a mobile library service, which had seen reducing demand over the last 10 years. This followed a major service review in 2013, resulting in reducing the mobile library fleet. There were 374 ‘stops’ on a 4-weekly cycle for 4 routes. In recent times, the stops where there had been consistently less than 4 active members who visited the stop, had also been removed.

The vehicles used for the service were also ending their serviceable life and the Council needed to make a decision regarding the future of the mobile service. New, smaller vehicles costed in the region of £150-200k per vehicle so significant capital investment would be required to continue to operate the service into the future.

The Council had an extensive network of 50 static libraries and many of the stops were near or close to an existing building. There were also existing services that supported vulnerable members such as the Good Neighbour scheme and the Home Library service. The use of the online resources had continued to grow in popularity and remained strong post pandemic.

During April and May this year the Council consulted with users of the service to inform its strategy, find out about the users of mobile libraries and to hear potential alternative solutions.

Section 5 of the Report highlighted the various options which included the following.

·       Option 1 – Decommission the Mobile Library vehicles.

·       Option 2 – Decommission the Mobile Library vehicles and provide £25K transition support for vulnerable users to continue to access alternative library provision.

·       Option 3 – Replace the 4 mobile libraries with new vehicles.

Option 2 was the preferred option.

An Impact Assessment had been prepared and was available on the website at Impact Assessment on Mobile Libraries and the alternative offers. This highlighted that whilst the proposal was to decommission the Mobile Library vehicles and support active members to utilise existing alternatives, feedback from the consultation highlighted a proportion of existing members with physical disabilities and issues with transportation and self-isolation. In response, the proposal would include a one-off investment of £25,000 to support expansion of the alternative service options to provide support to vulnerable members so they were able to continue to access library services as far as possible.

The Council would also work with Libraries Unlimited to develop a rural outreach offer.

The Cabinet noted that given the significant pressures on the Council’s finances, the proposals were a reasonable solution to reducing costs and the need for considerable reinvestment in mobile library vehicles when there were viable and more cost-effective alternatives. Whilst the service was well regarded by users, the usage was comparatively low and did not represent a cost-effective means of delivering the service.

The matter having been debated and the options and alternatives and other relevant factors (e.g. financial, sustainability and carbon impact), risk management, equality and legal considerations and alignment with the Council’s Strategic Plan) set out in the Head of Service’s Report having been considered:

it was MOVED by Councillor Croad, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and

RESOLVED that Option 2, as outlined in the Report, to ‘Decommission the Mobile Library vehicles and provide £25K transition support for vulnerable users to continue to access alternative library provision’ be approved.