Chair’s response to Devon County Council’s public libraries consultation
To all staff, customers and supporters of the libraries in Devon, thank you for your continued support of Libraries Unlimited and for taking the time to engage with this important consultation.
The board of trustees and I know how important our libraries are to people across Devon, and the impact the uncertainty about funding, service levels and the future has had on staff, volunteers and friends of our libraries over the past 12-months.
We understand the challenges councils are facing. Libraries Unlimited was established in 2016 to deliver library services in a new way. The charity model meant services could be secured and, to an extent, shielded from much of the competing demand for limited Council funding. Our charity sought to maximise other income streams, and much of the activity you see in your local library is delivered because of our ability and agility as an independent charity.
Over the last three years we have raised over £3.4m in additional income and a further £2.4m in grant income. We forecast that we will raise over £1m in grant income in this financial year alone.
However, pressures on local councils have continued, and spending priorities at Devon County Council have led to year-on-year reductions in the fee they give us, despite our contract.
We expect the library budget to be at least £800k smaller next year than it was 2024. This amounts to a cumulative reduction in spending of £1.6m over three years as the cuts have mounted up.
At the same time, there have been significant pressures on costs. With inflation running high, we have seen core costs, particularly for energy and cleaning, experience big increases. Energy costs are now 89% higher than before the energy price spike associated with the war in Ukraine.
Like a lot of charities we were also heavily impacted by the increase in Employers National Insurance which added another c.£180k to our costs.
The combination of reducing service fee and increasing costs has developed into a significant funding gap. We have sought to close the gap through cost-saving measures including vacancy freezes, retendering contracts and reducing energy usage.
Despite efficiencies and income generation, the funding gap has been too large to close and Libraries Unlimited has used its reserves to cover core budget deficits for the last few years to maintain the current level of service provision.
We have been calling on Devon County Council to consider the restoration of funding for the library service over many years, but this has not been forthcoming and the situation is unsustainable moving forward.
Unless funding can be restored, we support a consultation to establish a sustainable way forward at a cost that DCC can afford to fund in full.
Compared to many library services across the UK these changes, whilst significant, could be much worse. That’s why the board of trustees welcome this consultation so every resident can see the scale of the challenge we face.
We believe working with DCC rather than against them is fundamental to realise the best long term outcomes for Devon’s library service. Of all the options, we believe the proposals in this consultation are the right way forward as they:
- Keep all libraries open
- Restructure the service into geographical groups of libraries
- Realign libraries into bands based on need
Increasing the use of volunteers and increasing the use of open access technology are both things that we believe should continue to be implemented whatever the future holds. However, it is our strongly held view that neither replaces staffed library hours.
The best way to influence decisions is to read the background documentation, complete the survey online and encourage others to do so too. This is the time to put your views across and make your voice heard.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with myself or our Chief Executive, Alex Kittow.
With best wishes,
Marie Chadwick
Chair, Libraries Unlimited
