Council rejects opposition's bid to scrutinise libraries decision

Why it matters: The move comes amid significant public opposition, with a petition against the council takeover gathering more than 23,000 signatures.

The details: Both the Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent group and the Labour Group submitted separate "call in" requests, which would have forced further scrutiny of the decision made on 19 March.

Suffolk County Council votes to take back control of libraries despite widespread opposition

Suffolk's 45 libraries will return to council management from June 2025, ending 12 years of successful operation by Suffolk Libraries after the underperforming services were divested from council management in 2012.

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• 16 days ago

The opposition cited several grounds for their challenge, including:

• That Cabinet could have extended the existing Suffolk Libraries contract while retendering

• Financial costs of taking libraries back in-house had not been properly assessed

• Councillors received background information too late to prepare responses

• The decision should have been subject to public consultation

What they're saying: Simon Harley, group spokesperson for Public Health, Communities and Biodiversity, said: "It is disappointing, but not surprising, that the Conservative council has rejected a more independent scrutiny of this decision, also ignoring the massive petition from the people of Suffolk on legalistic grounds."

"Opposition councillors at the council have no confidence that it will be able to run our library services in any long-term or sustainable way," he added.

Sandy Martin, Leader of the Labour Group, said: "The Conservative council claim that all the relevant information needed to make a sensible decision was in the reports shown to the meeting. But the fact remains that they have never explained in detail how county council employees, on higher salaries, working for a council department that will not have charitable status, can deliver a better library service for less money than Suffolk Libraries have done."

For context: Suffolk's libraries were divested in 2012 following considerable public protest against the Conservative council's plans to close libraries. Since then, local Friends groups have raised money for their local libraries, with volunteers working alongside staff to reduce costs.

The council only guarantees that libraries will remain open for the rest of its current term, which opposition councillors describe as "limited and uncertain due to the devolution and local government reorganisation process."

The bottom line: The decision to take libraries back in-house stands, with opposition groups having exhausted their formal options to challenge it.