The large cuts to York’s library service have been postponed.
But the axe will still fall next year, councillors have confirmed.
City of York Council wanted to cut the amount it paid to Explore York, which runs the library service, by £300,000 a year over the next two years.
Now though, it will cut nothing this year – and £600,000 next year.
The Labour ruling group said it was left with no choice but to make the savings due to the financial black hole left by the previous administration, run by a Liberal Democrat-Green coalition.
But the Lib Dems say the situation is a “farce” and have urged Labour to reverse the planned cuts – or set out which services or libraries should go to fund the savings.
More than 3,000 people have signed their petition to safeguard Explore York from the cuts.
Explore York doesn’t want to comment on the row.
‘Scrap this cut’
The Lib Dems said the decision not to make a £300K cut this year is because “the council discovered that they cannot unilaterally change the contract it signed with York Explore”.
And any cuts in the amount paid to York Explore will be coupled with a cut in the services Explore will provides for the council.
City of York Council and Explore York have informed the Department for Culture, Media and Sport about their plans.
Councillor Darryl Smalley, the Lib Dem libraries boss until 2023, said:
“It is no surprise to anyone that this proposed cut has failed at the first hurdle. The council should scrap this cut altogether and focus on protecting libraries as vital community hubs.
“The fact the Government (DCMS) have had to intervene highlights what a farce Labour’s leadership of the council is – I wouldn’t trust them to run a bath let alone run our council.
“It’s truly astonishing that Labour’s council bosses thought that they could cut £300,000 from York Explore’s contract unilaterally and with no consultation with the organisation.
“The depth of public concern on this issue is very clear, evidenced by the protests and that over 3,000 local residents signed the Lib Dems’ petition against the funding cuts.
“If they intend to go ahead with this cut, Labour must now set out which services they will no longer provide. Which libraries will close? Will they axe the mobile library? How many librarians will be made redundant? Residents deserve to know.”
In response, executive member for culture Cllr Pete Kilbane said: “The council is working with Explore to ensure the process followed is appropriate, legal and delivers the savings agreed by the council in February.
“This is a difficult situation, with neither City of York Council nor Explore wanting to make cuts.
“When Labour took control of the council it inherited a £44m black hole, meaning we had to take difficult decisions to stabilise the council’s finances.
“This includes those areas like libraries that had seen no savings required since Explore was first set up in 2014.
“Both parties understand that the £600,000 in savings need to be found to balance the council budget. They will be delivered next year rather than £300,000 each year over two years.
“We remain confident Explore can deliver a comprehensive library service after meeting this savings target, and the involvement of the relevant Government department follows good practice when looking at funding reductions such as these.
“Having left the council on a precipice, Liberal Democrats continue to sleepwalk through the reality of a council budget that in real terms is tens of millions lower than it was in 2010.
This shows them to be an excellent fit for opposition, and not a party currently fit to run the council.”