Opposition councillors have called for certainty over the future of York library services ahead of planned £600,000 cuts.
Liberal Democrat opposition deputy leader Cllr Paula Widdowson said City of York Council’s Labour administration should come clean and say which parts of the service would be cut.
Cllr Pete Kilbane, the council’s deputy leader and culture spokesperson, said plans for the savings were being drawn up after a public survey closed last week, branding opposition speculation scaremongering.
It comes after £300,000 in cuts due to be made this financial year to York Explore’s contract to run libraries were delayed for 2025-6.
It means the cuts will have to be made in one year rather than over two as originally planned.
Liberal Democrats accused Labour of unilaterally cutting the funding and York Explore chief executive Jenny Layfield said they would not accept them prior to their approval in February 2024.
The council has since had talks with York Explore and the government about the cuts.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands the council informed York Explore about the reduction in its library needs assessment in line with good practice.
The £600,000 cuts are among the measures being put forward in the council’s Budget for the coming financial year which councillors are set to vote on in March.
They come as the council attempts to close a financial black hole of £10m-a-year, according to the authority’s forecasts.
Impact on the vulnerable
Cllr Widdowson said the cuts threatened to affect some of York’s most vulnerable and could leave residents without access to vital facilities.
She added it could deny people without their own computers access to one or deprive them of a warm space during winter if any libraries close.
The opposition deputy leader said: “York under the Liberal Democrats managed to maintain and expand our library provision, but one year on from Labour’s decision there is still no certainty about what the cut in funding will look like.
“Library closures, staff redundancies, the mobile library ceasing it’s operations – all of these are up in the air.
“Any closures will mean our communities will be left without library services they rely on.
“We need clarity from Labour as to exactly which libraries are at risk of closure if they press ahead with their callous funding cut.”
Labour’s Cllr Kilbane said there was no basis to the Liberal Democrat claims about closures and speculation about which services would or would not be available in the future.
He added a survey asking people about their views on library services, which garnered almost 2,900 responses, would inform the council’s approach going forward.
“For the first time in years we are assessing how residents engage with the library service so we have evidence to inform future decision making,” he said.
“Responses to our public engagement survey will shape proposals for a library service that continues to meet the needs of the people it serves, while making the necessary financial savings.
“The reason we must make these savings now is due to the way the Liberal Democrats failed to grasp this nettle when in power, as they continued spending money the council didn’t have.
“Although the budget decisions we have taken are difficult and sometimes unpopular, Labour has restored council finances to a solid footing.”
The council’s survey on libraries ran from Friday, December 6 to Friday, February 7.
Explore was set up in 2014 when it was contracted by the council to run York’s 15 libraries, including the flagship site in Library Square which houses the city’s archives.
It also runs five reading cafes, a mobile library and home service and employs more than 80 people.