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Suffolk Libraries claims its back office costs are 21.4% of the total budget—not 33% as claimed by Suffolk County Council, whose CEO urges councillors not to "make a big decision based on flawed figures."
Why it matters: Suffolk County Council has proposed taking the library service back in-house after 12 and a half years of being run by Suffolk Libraries, a move the charity says is based on misrepresented figures. The decision has been met with widespread public criticism:
A survey by this publication revealed that 76% were not in favour of the decision, with just 14% in favour of it
A petition against the takeover is approaching 21,000 signatures
By the numbers: Suffolk Libraries has an annual charitable turnover of nearly £10m, of which:
£6.8m comes from the council contract
Nearly £3m is generated by Suffolk Libraries itself
The charity says this extra income "pays for nearly all back office and management costs"
What they're saying: "We stand by our figures which prove 21.4% of our total annual salary budget is spent on back office/management, including functions like the stock team, HR and IT," said Bruce Leeke, CEO of Suffolk Libraries.
"The figure is only around 7% for senior management, a ratio that seems perfectly reasonable for a charity responsible for running 45 libraries, three mobile libraries and 13 prison libraries in addition to many other value adding contracts."
The other side: The county council has claimed that 33% of Suffolk Libraries staffing costs are spent on back office and management, a figure the charity disputes as being calculated incorrectly.
What's next: Suffolk Libraries met with the council this week to present a new proposal that would potentially allow the council to access additional funding to maintain the current service for the next two years.
For context: The charity says it has "successfully run" the county's 45 libraries for over 12 years and is "heralded within the industry as an example of best practice."
The bottom line: Sylvia Knights, Chair of Suffolk Libraries, has recorded a video appealing to Suffolk County Council decision makers to reconsider and "get back round the negotiating table."
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