STRADBROKE PARISH COUNCIL

RESPONSE TO LIBRARY CONSULTATION

Introduction

First and foremost, Stradbroke Parish Council would prefer that Suffolk County
Council remained as the direct provider of library services across Suffolk. Whilst
this does not appear to be an option within the consultation document, we
believe that any budget reductions that are necessary could be achieved by
reducing management and corporate overheads, and reviewing some of the
revenue costs for each library.

However, given the resolute refusal to date of SCC to consider this, we are
putting forward suggestions of how Stradbroke Library may remain open and
serving the residents of Stradbroke and the surrounding villages and hamlets.

We are not completing the consultation form, as it is wholly inappropriate for the
purposes of putting forward suggestions and commenting on the process being
undertaken. Please accept this document as our response. It was confirmed by
Guenever Pachent that this was acceptable at a meeting held on 25th February
2011 at Endeavour House.

THE CONSULTATION DOCUMENT

Prior to proposing any ‘new ways of working’, we wish to comment on the

consultation document.

It is not clear that any prior assessment of need was undertaken by SCC except
the somewhat confused and erroneous spreadsheets that were produced. In the
case of Stradbroke, the population is wrong, the distance to the nearest County
Library is wrong, and the annual income is probably wrong. It is difficult to judge
the rest of the information provided, as we have no recourse to the original data
set. The use of multiple deprivation indices does not adequately capture the
needs and description of our population. The spreadsheets take no account of
the needs of particular groups within the population such as children, older
people, vulnerable, disabled people etc. It is clear from the Wirral Enquiry that it
is expected that a Local Authority should assess:

• the range of needs within the community,

• accessibility of library services that includes car usage, transports routes
and costs related to transport,
• satisfaction of users; and make
• a full equalities impact assessment.

Whilst the current consultation may partially answer some of these questions, it
will not entirely, and, as far as we are aware, no other such assessments took
place prior to the consultation being published. It is clear from the consultation
document and other advice and guidance issued that there will be a significant
and far-reaching change of policy for library services across Suffolk.

The consultation document identifies County Libraries and Community Libraries.

We can see no purpose for this division, and no reason is given as all libraries
are to be divested. However, we consider the criteria to be flawed and not
correctly applied. In the case of Stradbroke:

• It is about 13 miles from the nearest ‘County’ Library with no public

transport. This is a huge barrier to access for almost all of the current
library users and would certainly deter potential users.
• Stradbroke may not figure in the indices of multiple deprivation, but rural
poverty in small villages and localities can be hidden because of overall
smaller populations. We are certainly not an area of relative affluence.
Work commissioned by Suffolk Acre demonstrated that:

“The majority of deprived people do not live in the most deprived areas,
especially so in rural areas”

The final project report (Deprivation in Rural Suffolk, Oxford Consultants for
Social Inclusion 2008) identified that:

 42% of the total Suffolk population live in rural areas;

 40% of all people with limiting long-term illness in Suffolk live in rural
areas;
 39% of all adults with no qualifications in Suffolk live in rural areas;
 37% of all those receiving the Pension Credit Guarantee Element in
Suffolk live in rural areas;
 32% of all Disability Living Allowance claimants in Suffolk live in rural
areas;
 31% of all Incapacity Benefit claimants in Suffolk live in rural areas;
 31% of all social housing in Suffolk is in rural areas;
 30% of all households lacking central heating in Suffolk is in rural areas;
 29% of all working-age people receiving any DWP benefit in Suffolk live in
rural areas;
 27% of all households lacking access to a car or van in Suffolk are in rural
areas;
 26% of all children in out-of-work households in Suffolk are in rural areas.

If Stradbroke Library were to close, it would leave a very large geographic hole in
the overall library provision for this area of Suffolk. But as there is no guarantee
that any library will remain open, it is impossible under these present proposals
‘to ensure a good geographic coverage of Suffolk.’
However, we understand that this categorisation has been abandoned as it is not
fit for purpose and the original categorisations were wrong. This change of policy
has not resulted in a new revised consultation document, which in our view is
very regrettable. It is not clear how the communities in the vicinity of these
previously categorised county libraries are being informed of this decision, or
how they will be involved in the consultation. Whilst the future of Stradbroke
Library is our priority, we are also concerned about the library service across
Suffolk

The consultation form is for both individuals and community groups/parish

councils etc. This is not at all helpful. It is notable for what it doesn’t ask rather
than for what it does. E.g. what do people use their library for - e-learning,
internet access, research, leisure reading and so on? It does not ask about the
respondent e.g. age, frequency of visits, distance from library etc. Asking
individuals how they could contribute is a non-question. If people do not know
how the library will be run in future, how can they say how they would contribute?
For a community group or parish council there is no guidance about the sort of
information required or the level of detail required. The introduction does not
provide any criteria, except for saving money, on how the responses will be
judged. It would have been better to produce two different forms, one for each
type of response as part of the overall consultation. The consultation will not in
any way replace a full equalities impact assessment and is therefore a wasted
opportunity.

There is no consultation aimed at children and young people. In our local library
they make significant use of the library, and their views should and must be
sought.

The financial information produced for each library is insufficient and possibly
wrong. It is almost impossible to determine the overall running costs, particularly
where premises are involved. This makes forming a business case exceedingly
difficult. This is important for future financial planning for any group contemplating
becoming involved in running a library. We were informed (meeting at Endeavour
House on 25th February 2011) that it was never envisaged that parish councils
would increase their precept, so it remains a mystery as to how a small village
could raise somewhere in the region of £25,000 to maintain its present library
service, if that is what it wishes to do. This advice about using the parish precept
has been contradicted in other documentation. There is no indication or mention
of longer-term planning or of future arrangements. For example, the CSD
contract ends in 2014, when the SPINE system is to be introduced for stock
procurement. The implications of these changes are not clear.

The consultation mixes the need to reduce overall financial costs with re-
modelling of the library service. The emphasis is clearly on reducing costs to the
point where it says that if the responses are disappointing and not viable, then
the funding will stop from 2012 for community libraries. It is not clear whether this
will apply to the previously categorised county libraries given the change of
policy. This emphasis detracts from gathering important qualitative and
quantative data on the experience of library users and the needs of local
communities. ‘Viable’ and ‘disappointing’ are not defined.

From a research point of view, the consultation cannot be analysed without

months of detailed work, so its purpose is unclear.

PROPOSALS FOR THE FUTURE

LOCAL SUPPORT

Stradbroke Parish Council originally expressed an interest in becoming involved

with running the library in August 2010. It was clear at that time that there would
be financial constraints for SCC, and it seemed likely that libraries would be
under review. At that time the PC clearly stated that it wanted to ensure that the
library in Stradbroke remained open.

Following meetings with appropriate officers, it appeared that this was possible
with the PC making a small financial contribution (5% of staffing costs and all of
the running costs of the building). This changed with the publication of the
consultation document.

Since January 2011, the Parish Council has reiterated its support for keeping the
library open, and has formed a working group to take the work forward. This
consists of parish councillors and co-opted residents who have shown an interest
in the project. Updates have been placed in the parish magazine, a support
demonstration was held at the library in February 2011, with over 200 residents
attending and signing a petition. A group of residents and councillors met with
our MP, Dr Dan Poulter, who declared his support for the campaign and a public
meeting was held on 25th February 2011. This was attended by over 200 people,
and was very supportive of the bid to retain the library in its current form. The
petition of 700+ signatures supporting the retention of the library was presented
to Councillor Guy McGregor at this meeting. The population of Stradbroke is
1,240.

Further evidence of the support from local residents can be seen in videos on the
village web site (www.stradbroke.org.uk) where a number of people express their
views about what the library means for them. These, above all, are very powerful
statements of why we wish to retain our library. From the child who says “all my
best books are in there” to the older person who is visually impaired who says “I
depend on the library for my talking books; it’s the only thing I can do,” the people
of Stradbroke made their point over and over again of just how important this
library is to their lives.
 A number of suggestions were made at the public meeting, and these have all
been considered by the working party. Listed below are our proposals for the
future. Many aspects will require further work and further information.

1. Governance and Management

The Parish Council is willing to become responsible for the overall governance
and management of the library service in Stradbroke. A working group or
committee would be established, made up of councillors and co-opted local
residents to oversee the major functions of the library. Whilst the library manager
would remain responsible for the day to day management, the group or
committee would provide the overall direction, suggest and support initiatives
according to locally identified needs, and provide the necessary administrative
and clerical services.
We recently met with representatives from Eye and Debenham to discuss their
libraries and whether or not we could usefully join together to offer practical
assistance and support. We have agreed to continue these discussions and it
maybe that the three libraries could be run under one charitable body.

2. Assets – buildings
Stradbroke Library is housed in the Courthouse building and owned by SCC.
This was originally built by local subscription as a corn hall, and then became a
court. About 50+ years ago, the library opened in an upstairs room, with the court
downstairs. When the court closed, the library moved to its current position in a
downstairs room. The upstairs room remains available for small meetings and
also houses the parish council’s photocopier. The parish magazine is produced
here. Downstairs there is a further room that has been used as an open access
youth club. The club has ceased to function in this way, and all funding will cease
by May of this year.

The building has always been a community/public building. It is Grade II listed,

making any alterations and changes quite difficult to achieve. However, it is an
important village building and very much part of the street scene in the centre of
the village. Due to its position, it is easily accessible to everyone in the village
and is near to shops, church, school, post office etc. Whilst it is noted that the
condition of the building is classified as ‘c’ in the spreadsheets, the library itself is
welcoming, warm, well-decorated and clean.

The Parish Council is interested in the building becoming a community asset. It is

willing to take on the ownership of the building. We envisage that it would be
placed into a charitable trust that would ensure that it remains as a community
building. We would consult SALC regarding the setting up of a trust to manage
the building.

We have a number of ideas for developing the use of the building and, whilst
these are not currently firmed up, they include:
 • a Parish Office – residents could access information and support about
local issues, view planning applications, make representations to the
Parish Council;
• space for our local history archive;
• a café;
• an after-school homework club;
• small meeting space for groups etc.;
• home for Stradbroke Radio

We are aware that our Post Office is under threat, with the current owner wishing
to sell the premises. It may be possible to house the Post Office in the
Courthouse. This is some way off, but it would be considered should the situation
arise. Ownership of the building would make this possible.

At the recent public meeting a number of alternatives for accommodating the

library were made and we have considered these in some detail.

The main idea was that our local high school, Stradbroke Business and
Enterprise College (SBEC), could accommodate the library. This clearly may
have some potential advantages in terms of cost of staff and buildings. Having
discussed the matter with the Headteacher, the following are the practical
difficulties in locating the library there.

• SBEC is not in the centre of the village and is far less accessible to many
residents, but particularly mothers with children at the primary school,
elderly and/or disabled residents.
• Access to the school itself is problematic in that there are security
measures in place for safeguarding reasons. All visitors must sign in and
out of the building and would have to be escorted whilst in the school. The
school library is located in the heart of the building.
• There is a separate building at the school that is more accessible to the
public, although safeguarding procedures would still apply. To benefit from
shared resources, considerable expenditure would be entailed in moving
the school library. It is a smaller room than the current school library and
would therefore significantly disadvantage students. The current school
library is very well used by students throughout the day, and good use is
made of the space available, including access to a bank of computers.
• The school is not open during weekends and holiday periods, and to
achieve this would be costly as a caretaker and a library manager would
need to be employed during these times. Whilst we believe that school
premises should be open and accessible to the public, the practical issues
make this difficult to achieve. There would be little or no financial saving in
pursuing this option.
• SCC is promoting Academy Status for schools. If this is pursued by SBEC
(and this is likely) this would be an additional barrier to locating the library
within the school.

The other possible building within the village is the Community Centre.
However, again there are practical issues that would be very difficult or costly
to overcome:
• The building is currently very well used, and there is no space that
could be devoted to the library on a permanent basis.
• Due to shortage of space, it would also be problematic to extend the
building even if the funding could be found. The sports clubs that use
the showers and other facilities need to extend the changing rooms.
This would eat into the car park space and this is already under
pressure and insufficient at times.
• The local swimming pool, on the same site, has recently built a gym,
so using more of the parking area.
• There is no permanent presence of a caretaker etc.

We have therefore concluded that this also would be impractical.

On the basis of the above comments,

The Courthouse remains our building of choice.

1. Staffing
The Parish Council takes the view that a library requires a professional library
manager. As this is currently a single-manned library, it would not be
possible to use volunteers to oversee and manage the whole of the service. It
may be possible to use volunteers for some tasks, but it would require
someone to co-ordinate, manage and oversee their work. This has to be
undertaken by a library manager. (See below for further developments of this
idea). There would also need to be relief staff to cover holidays, sickness etc.
It is not clear from the consultation how this would be delivered, so we await
further information about this.

2. Opening Hours

Stradbroke library is currently open for 20 hours per week. This includes
Saturday and Sunday opening. Depending on an assessment and consultation
within the village it may be possible to reduce or extend the hours.

3. Developing the Library Services

We would like to work with SBEC to offer work experience placements for
young people as part of their studies. This currently happens for a week or so
each year, but we believe that this could be extended to provide all-year-
round placements. It would benefit the young people by offering them an
experience that will increase their confidence, allow them to build up their
portfolios/CVs for later use, and it would also build capacity within the
community. We know how positively employers and further/higher education
establishments view the benefits of real work and experience gained in this
way. It would give students an opportunity to develop their own skills and
experience and develop their concept of being a citizen and making a
contribution to their community.

The parish has an extensive local history archive, but this is not very
accessible at the moment. We would like to place it within the building and,
using volunteers, catalogue it so that access for the general public would
become significantly easier. We receive, usually via the parish website, a
number of family history queries, and this arrangement could support
answering those queries. It would also support our schools when teachers
and students undertake local history work.

We have a local amateur community radio station. The Courthouse could

become its home, and, again, young people could become involved in
broadcasting and running the station.

4. Funding
The Parish Council wishes to own the Courthouse building. However, before
any transfer of this asset takes place, we feel that a condition survey should
be undertaken by SCC and any obvious faults or problems corrected before it
is handed over. The building is not heated very efficiently, and we would like
SCC to improve this situation and undertake the work to remedy this. A
review of deeds etc needs to be undertaken to discover if any covenants are
in place for the building.

There is considerable confusion about how much the local community or

Parish Council is expected to find to support their library if they wish it to
continue with the same level of provision. The consultation document states
that SCC is looking to achieve a 30%+ saving in the overall budget in the next
three financial years. On the other hand, we have received information that
requires the PC to pay for all the revenue costs of the library. In the case of
Stradbroke, this would amount to around £25,000 (on 2010 costs). This is
about 50% of the cost of Stradbroke Library. No interpretation of 30%+ could
or should amount to 50%.

The consultation makes it very clear that SCC wants to reduce overall costs
by at least 30%. It is our understanding that there was a 5% in-year saving of
central costs during 2010/11. There is a further planned reduction in the
budget of 10% for the year 2011/12. So, 15% savings will have been
achieved by March 2012. This leaves a further 15% savings to be found.
As we said previously, we believe that we need a paid, professional library
manager. Clearly, to raise our precept by some £25,000 is out of the
question. Our suggestion is that the whole of the 2010 funding level of
£50,450 less 30% is devolved to the PC, and we will fund all the required
costs associated with the library. We would need to buy in certain services
from either SCC or another provider e.g. stock provision, ICT etc. As these
costs have already been reduced, it is not possible, from the information
supplied, to be more specific at the moment, and we would welcome further
discussion on this point.

The model for this arrangement would be the one used for schools’
governance. There is sufficient expertise within SCC to manage this
arrangement, and we have expertise and experience of this approach within
the village.

These are our views and suggestions to date. We look forward to hearing
from you further and working up the ideas into a strategic and practical plan.

Ann Kerr
Chairman Stradbroke Parish Council
April 2011