The chief executive of York’s library service has issued a robust response to the suggestion that the council plans to cut its funding.
City of York Council published its budget proposals for 2024-25 yesterday (Wednesday), setting out how it will make £14.3 million in cutbacks.
Among the savings proposed was £300K a year for the next two years on the council’s payment to the York library service.
But the service chief executive Jenny Layfield today pointed out: you can’t do that.
The mutual company that runs the city’s libraries and archive – Explore York Libraries and Archives Mutual Ltd – has a contract with the council to deliver the service.
Signed in 2019, the contract runs until 2034.
Ms Layfield said: “As part of the contract there is an agreed contract sum which is paid to Explore each year.
“Explore is not therefore part of the council and does not have a council budget which can be subject to cuts.”
While there were mechanisms within the contract to change the level of service provided and the associate costs, “those changes require the agreement of both parties”.
“Explore has a unique and special approach to delivering local services; we are an independent mutual organisation,” the library boss said.
“We are owned by the people of York and are shaped by the people of York.”
And she made one thing particularly clear: no York libraries will shut. “Explore’s position with regards to the closure of libraries remains as previously stated, that, under the current contract, we do not intend to close any libraries.”
Ms Layfield pointed out that York’s mutual model for running the libraries is a national and award-winning success story.
She added: “We contribute through our teams to almost every agenda that matters to residents and visitors, providing time, experience and ideas to the cultural agenda, the learning agenda, the place agenda, the digital agenda, and the health and well-being agenda.
“We are responsive, adaptable and able to work quickly and effectively providing the City of York Council with a way of tackling challenges and taking opportunities efficiently and effectively.
“We are sensitive to the current challenges of the City of York Council and will continue, as we have done to date, to work in partnership with them to ensure that we can continue to deliver the libraries and archives service that the people of York so clearly value.”
What the council said
In a statement accompanying the launch of the budget papers, Jo Coles, executive member for health, wellbeing and adult social care, said: “As part of the challenging process of keeping the council budget balanced, it is only fair that we look at all our partnerships, so every area of service delivery can play its part in sharing the burden of financial reductions.
“We are rightly proud of our brilliant libraries service but until this financial year, York Explore has not had any of the budget cuts affecting other parts of the council.
“There has also been significant capital investment of £7.7m into library buildings since 2019. It’s important we are fair in how we make planned reductions in funding.
“We are committed to working with York Explore, their staff and volunteers, to increase their income from their wonderful cafes, events and from other funding sources such as grants to mitigate against the budget reductions we are being forced to make.”