MORE than £600,000 of public money has been spent on redundancy packages for library staff at the shrinking service, the Evening Mail can reveal.

Cumbria County Council has spent a total of £617,828.30 on redundancies over the past three financial years, after cutting the number of people working in libraries across the area.

Figures obtained through Freedom of Information laws show 64 members of staff left with voluntary redundancies between April 1 2013 and March 31 2016, and one person was also made compulsorily redundant.

'Honest discussion needed'

The lack of transparency over cuts to the library service has been criticised by Cumbria County Councillor James Airey.


The Conservative member for Ulverston West said: "The county council has had to make cuts. The problem I have had is when I have challenged the administration that they have made a decision to shrink the library service they have kept it quiet.

"What we should have had is an honest debate about this.

"Some libraries are being closed and relocated and jointly housed and some of that I would support. What I can't support is that this administration makes this decision behind closed doors.

"I can agree that this council, like the rest of local authorities, has significantly had the budgets cut by the government, but when it comes down to local choice that's down to local authorities.

"If I was in charge of the council, and I hope by next year I am, and I have to make further cuts, I would have an honest discussion and involve the public.

"It is a massive amount of staff. We have got to have sympathy with the staff."

Changing priorities

The data shows that 16 people accepted voluntary redundancy in 2013/14, 16 more in 2014/15 and 32 more in 2015/16. One person accepted voluntary redundancy last year.

Saving money within the library service has seen sites closed and relocated to smaller venues, leading, unsurprisingly, to concern over the future of community hubs in the county.

Plans were recently unveiled to move Dalton Library to the nearby Dalton Community Association as a self-service only, much to the frustration of some community leaders.

A consultation over changing opening times , which could see libraries in Furness and South Lakeland shut for an extra 40 hours, including the closure of Barrow Library on Sundays, ended on June 17.

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A study in April found there were 8,000 fewer jobs in English libraries compared to six years previously, a drop of almost 25 per cent of the overall total.

Cumbria County Council statement in full


Ian Stewart, cabinet member for public health and community services, said: "Cumbria is committed to its libraries and, despite very large cuts to our budget by government, we maintain a comprehensive countywide service and have avoided the mass closures seen in other parts of the country. But that has meant changes behind the scenes to how the service is run.

"As a result the number of staff employed by the library service has reduced and this has been managed overwhelmingly through a voluntary redundancy process.

"The majority of council services have experienced the same process as the council attempts to continue to provide services with significantly less money.

"Within the next month a report from the national Libraries Taskforce will be produced.

"I am confident that the services in Cumbria will be reflective of the good practice that will be highlighted in this report.

"I have arranged for the chief executive of Libraries Taskforce to come to Barrow in August.

"We can then better learn the experiences from elsewhere so that we can continue to provide the best possible service to residents in Cumbia, and especially in Barrow."