Venue: Sparkenhoe Committee Room, County Hall, Glenfield
Contact: Miss. A. Rog (Tel. 0116 305 0455) Email: anna.rog@leics.gov.uk
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In Attendance. Mr. R. Blunt
CC, Cabinet Lead Member for Heritage, Leisure and Arts (Minutes 36 and 37
refer). |
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Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 1 September were taken as read, confirmed and signed. |
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Question Time. Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 35. |
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Questions asked by members under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5). Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5). |
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Urgent Items. Minutes: There were no urgent items for consideration. |
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Declarations of interest. Minutes: The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting. No declarations were made. |
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Declarations of the Party Whip in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 16. Minutes: There were no declarations of the party whip. |
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Presentation of Petitions under Standing Order 36. Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no petitions had been
received under Standing Order 36. |
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Future Strategy for Delivery of Library Services. The
appendices to this report have been circulated to members and can be viewed on the County Council’s
website, at http://politics.leics.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=1040&MId=4461&Ver=4 A copy
can also be obtained by contacting the committee officer. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee
considered a report of the Director of Adults and Communities to be considered
by the Cabinet concerning:- ·
the
progress made with communities who were assessed as meeting the County Council’s
conditions to enable them to manage their community library; ·
an
update on the second and final round of registration of interest (ROI) which
was aimed at those communities where previously no ROI had been received or had
been received and subsequently withdrawn; The Chairman
welcomed to the meeting Mr R. Blunt, Cabinet Lead Member for Heritage, Leisure
and Arts. The Director and
Cabinet Lead Member in their introduction to the report drew the Committee’s
attention to the following:- (i)
Since
the report had been written the community group linked with Barwell
Library had withdrawn their proposed bid. As a result Barwell
would be added to the list of libraries where a further three month
consultation was proposed on possible closure and replacement with a mobile
library service; (ii)
While
Braunstone Town and Mountsorrel had submitted Outline Business Plans, both
assumed an on-going financial commitment from the Council which was not in line
with the infrastructure support package offer; Arising from the
discussion the following points were made:- (i)
There
was a statutory requirement to undertake consultation where a closure of a
library was proposed. However, members were assured that there would be an
on-going dialogue with local community groups with a view to trying to find a
way forward to keep a community library operating; (ii)
There
were some issues regarding the lease the County Council had with both
Mountsorrel and Braunstone Town and further discussions would take place with
both organisation regarding the lease. In undertaking these discussions
officers would be mindful of the view previously expressed by the Committee
that there should be a level playing field and no one community group should
receive preferential treatment whilst at the same time seeking to find, if
possible, a pragmatic way forward; (iii)
Voluntary
Action Leicester, who had considerable experience in building community
capacity, were working closely with officers and would be able to support and
advise communities who took on responsibilities for managing community
libraries as they developed their plans to transfer; (iv)
The
Council would continue to provide on-going support and advice through the
Relationship Manager during the transition phase to community management and
through the Locality Support Officer once the group had taken over the library
to try and ensure the long term sustainability of libraries that are
transferred; (v)
The
County Council’s expectation was that transferred community libraries would
continue to be open for the same number of hours. However, it was recognised
that local communities would want to shape the service to local needs and to
that end it was recognised that the County Council would need to be flexible; (vi)
The
County Council was entering into agreements with local communities and as such
could not be prescriptive about how the service was delivered or how success
was measured. This latter issue would need to be revisited at a future point
when the shape of the service within communities became clearer through
engagement with the local groups; (vii)
It was recognised that, whilst there were
currently a number of outline business cases being processed there was a risk
that one or more of these might not proceed to
completion. Accordingly recommendation (g) in the Cabinet report sought
delegation for the Director to commence consultation on possible closure of the
library and replacement with a mobile service should this be necessary. Members of the Committee commended officers on the work undertaken and paid credit ... view the full minutes text for item 36. |
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Outcome of Consultation on Mobile Library Services. The
appendices to this report have been circulated to members and can be viewed on the County Council’s
website, at http://politics.leics.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=1040&MId=4461&Ver=4 A copy
can also be obtained by contacting the committee officer. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee
considered a report of the Director of Adults and Communities to be considered
by the Cabinet concerning the outcome of consultation on proposals to
re-schedule the mobile library service and propose a new model of service
delivery. The Chairman
welcomed to the meeting Mr R. Blunt, Cabinet Lead Member for Heritage, Leisure
and Arts. Arising from the
discussion the Committee was advised as follows:- (i)
The
majority of people responding to the consultation preferred a monthly cycle for
the mobile library service with one of the primary reasons given being that it
was easier to remember; (ii)
A total
of 39 additional stops had been added and the capacity remained within the
mobile fleet to support areas where a community library had closed; (iii)
The Service
was confident that it could operate the routes with three vehicles. Vehicle
breakdowns were a key risk in the delivery of mobile services. Provision had
been made for the purchase of two new vehicles which would go some way to
minimising this risk. The mobile service had in place mechanisms to alert
communities that the service would not be operating due to a breakdown or in
the event of bad weather and these had worked well; (iv)
There
would be an increased limit on the number of books that could be borrowed and
the loan period would be flexible. Where an individual was unable to get to the
mobile library to renew their books there would be a facility to do this
on-line or over the telephone. Members of the
Committee commended the way in which the consultation on the mobile library
service had been undertaken. RESOLVED: That the Cabinet be advised that the Committee notes the outcome of the consultation and supports the implementation of a monthly schedule of mobile library service visits. |
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Date of next meeting. The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled to take place on 3 November 2015 at 2.00pm at County Hall. Minutes: RESOLVED: It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on 3 November 2015 at 2.00pm at County Hall. |