Campaigners win High Court challenge over library cuts

Decisions by two county councils to cut their library provision were unlawful, the High Court has ruled.

Gloucestershire County Council had planned to withdraw funding from 10 of 38 static libraries and to withdraw its mobile library service. Somerset Council meanwhile proposed withdrawing funding for 11 of 34 static libraries and took four out of its six mobile libraries off the road.

Campaigners, advised by high-profile law firm Public Interest Lawyers, challenged both authorities' decisions.

Quashing the decisions, His Honour Judge McKenna concluded that the two authorities had failed to carry out adequate equality impact assessments and comply with their equality duties.

However, the judge also concluded that the county councils had not failed in their duties under the Libraries Act 1964.

In a statement Somerset said it would continue to work with the groups that had submitted business cases to deliver successful community run services.

Council Leader Mark Hawthorne said: "In line with the judge's ruling, we will be taking this decision again with an open mind but we are confident that our policy on community run libraries is sound."

Cllr Ken Maddock, Leader of Somerset County Council, meanwhile said: “We did not come into this administration wanting to close things, especially services as dear to people’s hearts as our libraries. The decision was taken after great deliberation and with great reluctance. Our income is drastically down and at the same time the demand for our services is increasing."

He argued that the authority's top priority was to provide a safety net for vulnerable children and adults. "That is why we have to make savings and are looking at everything we do as a council."

Cllr Maddock added: "We have worked with communities ever since we took the decision to reduce the libraries budget earlier this year and it was tremendously encouraging to see the number of people wanting to come forward and take over many of the libraries concerned. I am absolutely confident that in many cases libraries would not have closed. We now have the judge's ruling and are restricted as to what we can say about it at this time."

Somerset's Leader said it welcomed the court's agreement that its plans would still provide a comprehensive and efficient library service. "We also welcome the judge's comments that our consultation process met all requirements."

Cllr Maddock said the council accepted all of the judge's directions and would act accordingly. "We will now take some time to consider the court's lengthy judgement and discuss any steps we need to take."

Daniel Carey of Public Interest Lawyers, the law firm advising the claimants, said the ruling sent "a clear message not only to Gloucestershire and Somerset, but to every council in the country, that catering for the needs of the vulnerable must be at the heart of any decision to cut important services such as libraries".

He added: " The judge spoke of the ‘open-signal’ this ruling will send to other councils who must now fundamentally re-appraise their library provision, and the Culture Minister must now step in to halt disproportionate cuts to library provision that are disenfranchising vulnerable users nationwide.”

The ruling comes a week after the Court of Appeal reserved judgment after an expedited hearing of a libraries provision case involving the London Borough of Brent. In that case, the council successfully defended the claim in the High Court.

Philip Hoult