Culture secretary 'minded not to direct a local inquiry' into library provision in Calderdale

The Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is “minded not to direct a local inquiry” into library provision in Calderdale.

The decision on library provision in Calderdale followed complaints to the Secretary of State about changes to the library service provision agreed at the Calderdale Council Cabinet meeting of 9th November 2020. Craig Whittaker MP (Calder Valley), along with the Calderdale Conservative Group and Councillor George Robinson, complained that Calderdale Council’s decision to close eight libraries meant it would not be complying with its legal duty to provide a “comprehensive and efficient” library service under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.

A letter from the Minister for Arts and Heritage, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, published on Friday (7th September), indicated that the Secretary of State Lucy Frazer was not minded to order such an inquiry. It said: “The Secretary of State is satisfied that in making the changes to the library service, Calderdale Council has not breached its statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service.”

It noted the council’s consideration of its overall budget and the resulting decision to review its 15 community libraries and for the library service to reduce costs and contribute towards the overall savings required of the council. The Secretary of State also notes that Calderdale Council undertook an eight week consultation, which she says “was promoted widely” and “where council officers actively engaged in the consultation process to obtain residents’ views and a range of methods to gather feedback were employed”.

She continued that “Calderdale Council considered a number of alternative models of delivery, that included researching and seeking advice and user experience of other local authorities” and further notes “that Calderdale Council, prior to agreeing the reduction in the number of community libraries, undertook two equality and community cohesion impact assessments, which demonstrated due regard to its equality duty”.

The Secretary of State notes that the council’s cabinet papers include a heading on equality and diversity, but there is no specific reference to the council’s responsibility in respect of the Public Sector Equality Duty. She considers this requirement should have been set out in the cabinet papers relating to the future of the library service.

She goes on to encourage Calderdale Council “to put in place a monitoring process that enables it to evaluate the outcome of the agreed changes to its library service and to ensure that the revised statutory provision is and remains comprehensive and efficient and meets residents’ needs”.

The letter concludes: “The Secretary of State is of the view that Calderdale Council has demonstrated that it sufficiently investigated and considered the needs of the community in reaching its decision about the changes to the library service.”

However, before taking that final decision about an inquiry, the Secretary of State invites any further representations about her proposed decision from library users or other interested persons. Any such representations should be sent to the Ministerial Support Team, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ or by email to enquiries@dcms.gov.uk by 5.00 p.m. on Thursday 5th October 2023 and titled “Calderdale Library Services – Minded to Representations”.

The last ministerial letter regarding representations made about local library services was published in January 2021. It was a ’final decision’ letter from Minister of State for Digital and Culture, Caroline Dinenage explaining the Secretary of State’s decision not to hold a local inquiry into Bedford Council’s library provision.