Looking
at the North Lambeth Libraries in the five wards Bishops, Princes, Oval,
Stockwell and Vassall, figures show that on weighed population the Library
budget for 20012/13 would be £583,360.
However,
in the budget allocation Options in North Lambeth outlined, the wards would
only receive £470,000 under Options 1 and 3, while Options 2 and 4 would only
grant £363,000. These sums are considerably less than the ward allocation based
on weighted population. This appears to be discriminatory bearing in mind the
nature of the weighted population.
The
Options are based on visits and issues at each Library. The differences could
reflect the degree of outreach work. But these are not explained. Low useage of
particular libraries raises a number of fundamental issues, which are not
adequately addressed, including:
·
the
degree to which there is consistent promotional outreach
·
the
engagement of local schools
·
the
extent of population turnover
·
the
degree to which libraries cater for the increasingly complex ethnic/language
mix in their catchment areas
·
the
extent to which the above issues are more complex on the Council estates in the
catchment areas of these three libraries
It
has been pointed out to me that in North Lambeth as a result Tate South Lambeth
and Waterloo Libraries are due to have a cut of nearly one half over the
two-year period, while Durning faces a cut of one quarter. How this disparity
reflects relative population and social need is highly questionable. It would
seem that higher usage has a heavy
weighting.
Contrary
to the advice of the Wirral Libraries Inspector and a recent court judgement
there is no equalities analysis. There is no assessment of needs: age groups,
income levels, ethnic groups. Wandsworth’s Library Review showed that non-white
sections of the population use the libraries more than the white British, which
will partly reflect the former’s recognition of the importance of learning and
also their possible lower ownership of home computers.
There
is no discussion on the link with the legally required Child Poverty Action
Strategy. Wandsworth carried out a survey of the views about libraries of
children up to age 16. Is Lambeth?
All
these matters could influence the additional factors/weighting that need to be
taken into account which would then influence the ward and area and individual
library shares of the budget.
In
addition to the above concerns, Friends of Durning Library has identified
discrepancies in the calculations and is waiting a reply from the Council about
them.
Problems
Facing Council Officers
Lambeth
Libraries campaigners understood that
the officials involved in drawing up the consultation document were given a
very tight timetable. It may therefore not be surprising that such things as an
equalities analysis and compliance with the Child Poverty Action Strategy have
not been done, or not yet. Apparently they are very conscious of what they are
legally required to do as a result of recent cases but may simply not have had time to do it all
and issue the consultation document by the deadline. It looks like 'Visits and issues' were chosen as measures
of usage because they were recommended by the Libraries Commission and they
probably did not want to add further complications to some already difficult
calculations.
Corporate
Equalities
In
terms of the Council’s overall equalities approach in relation to developing
the Co-operative Council approach at
its meeting on 29 March the Overview & Scrutiny Committee considered
the ‘Corporate Plan 2012-15: equalities objectives and performance indicators’.
The paper sets out a set of objectives including:
·
Communities
feel secure. ‘Elements
of this outcome cut across many of our other outcomes and focus on themes such
as perceptions of crime, community cohesion, and usage and perceptions of the
borough’s cultural offer. The findings of the EIA suggested that the take-up of
cultural services is low for older people, BME groups and poorer residents and
that addressing this should be the focus of the equalities objective. It was
further considered to propose an equalities objective about youth perceptions
and experience of discrimination.’
·
Communities
work with the council and each other to improve their neighbourhoods and foster
self-reliance. ‘It
is important that residents feel informed, engaged and empowered if we are to
build our cooperative council ambition and the evidence taken from our
Residents survey suggests that this equality objective should focus on
encouraging young people, Muslim residents, poorer residents and those who
speak English as a second language to become more involved in their
communities.’
What
Kind of Service Can Be Provided Within the Overall Budget Sum?
The key question for campaigners is whether taking account of all the
additional factors mentioned will
significantly affect how the money is to be allocated to individual libraries.
It certainly won't produce
any more money overall. Lambeth have said very clearly that they do not plan to
close any libraries but that means that
cuts on the scale required are going to mean reduced service levels,
particularly staffing which is the biggest single item of expenditure for each
and every library. The result may well be that some of the libraries turn out
not to be viable on those terms but that is what the 'local community' has to
work out, in conjunction with Lambeth.
What Lambeth Library campaigners want to know is what sort of service could be provided with the levels of funding proposed.
What Lambeth Library campaigners want to know is what sort of service could be provided with the levels of funding proposed.
Consultation
Dates
The
consultation runs until Friday 20 April. The following consultation events are
still due to be held:
Wednesday 11 April. 10am-noon. Waterloo Library,
114-118 Lower Marsh.
Wednesday 11 April. 7-9pm. Brixton Library, Windrush
Square.
Thursday 12 April. 10am-noon. Tate South
Lambeth Library, South Lambeth Rd.
Tuesday
17 April. Upper Norwood Joint Library, 41 Westow Hill.
Plus
Monday 16 April. 6.45 for 7.15pm at Durning Library,
Kennington Cross. Adrian Smith, Lambeth’s Director of Cultural Services, on
co-production and the future of the library service. Talk followed by AGM of
Friends of Durning Library. Light refreshments. All welcome. Suggested donation
£2.
All
the Council documents can be accessed at www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/CouncilDemocracy/Consultations/ACSConsultations/CooperativeLibrariesConsultationDocuments.htm.
#Friends
of TSL have written a summary of the main paper which you can find at www.tatesouthlambethfriends.org.
The
Equalities Report considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee can be seen
at
Upper
Norwood Joint Library
This
is a real library, not like so many run-down empty shelved ones that now exist.
It is under threat because of a dispute
between Lambeth and Croydon Councils. The story over the last year can be seen
on www.cpca.org.uk and www.unlc.org.uk. The Upper
Norwood Library Campaign and Crystal Palace Community Association made a
submission to the Lambeth Libraries Committee ‘An Alternative Financial and
Governance Model for Lambeth’s Library Service’ which is well worth a read, but
does not seem to be on the web.
Turning Council Properties into
Community Hubs
The
Council also envisages some libraries developing as Community Hubs. It has had
a separate consultation on Community Hubs underway which ended on 31 March.
The
development of Community Hubs is part of Lambeth’s Council’s Co-operative
Council agenda. The aim is to see which Council owned buildings occupied by
community and voluntary groups could be transferred from its ownership and be
developed into multi-purpose service and activity community hubs. Many already
are and there are also organisations running community hubs which they either
own, lease or rent or have the use of from other property owners.
The
concept of a community hub is to provide a flexible, economical space for
community groups, the statutory sector, social enterprises and small and medium
sized enterprises from which they can operate, co-produce and deliver services.
This event seeks to consult with the voluntary and community sector on the
proposed development of a network of community hubs in the borough over the next
four years.
The
Community Hub consultation should be seen within the context of the Council’s
approach to the management of its whole property portfolio. This was discussed
by the Cabinet on 16 January; full paper on: www.lambeth.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/s38873/08a%20PAMP%202011-2014%20Report.pdf
My background paper on issues relating to the Community
Hubs consultation is available from me: sean.creighton1947@btinternet.com.
The results of both the Libraries and Community Hubs
consultations should be known in May.
Amazing piece. There is so many lesson to be learned from this. Thankyou for sharing this kind of work author.
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