Surrey next in line for library cuts judicial review
Surrey County Council has become the latest local authority to face a judicial review challenge over its plans to cut libraries services.
The challenge is being brought by the Surrey Libraries Action Movement (SLAM). The organisation has appointed Public Interest Lawyers, the law firm behind the successful challenge to Somerset and Gloucestershire County Council’s planned library service cuts, to act on its behalf.
Under Surrey’s proposals, unveiled in September 2011, ten of the 52 libraries in the county would be run by volunteers. Plans to run a further nine libraries on the same lines have since been axed.
SLAM, which is chaired by Mike Alsop, is attacking Surrey’s plans on the grounds that both its decision-making process and an alleged lack of scrutiny were inadequate and unlawful.
Public Interest Lawyers sent a pre-action protocol letter to Surrey at the end of December, calling on the council to reverse its decision. The authority has until 10 January to provide a response.
On its website, SLAM said: “We have taken this action with great reluctance, having exhausted all other means of trying to hold SCC to account over their library plans.
"We have also become exasperated at SCC's avoidance of any discussion or consultation with Surrey residents on the library plans, and also the council's increasing hostility towards legitimate protest (blocking SLAM's emails, and withholding information in relation to Freedom of Information requests, to name just two examples."
The organisation added: "We believe we have been given no other choice than to hold SCC to account by pursuing legal action.”
A Surrey County Council spokesman said it was currently considering the content of the 16-page pre-action protocol letter.
But he added: “The council has to save more than £200m over four years. We're trying to stretch a smaller budget to keep all 52 of Surrey’s libraries open at a time when other local authorities are closing branches across the country due to financial constraints.
“We've come up with a solution but need the support of library users to succeed. Our plans mean we can focus resources on continuing to run more popular libraries while investing in the latest technologies to make them better."
On the issue of emails, the spokesman said: “We have to be strong enough to recognise when we have got something wrong and in this case we have. We value people's views and Mr Alsop's emails now arrive straight into inboxes, instead of councillors having the option of opening them.
“People's opinions are always considered when a decision is made and this was the case with the recent decision to change the libraries policy, which was heavily informed by the opinions of library users."
Judicial review challenges to local authority plans to cut library services have so far met with mixed success.
While campaigners won against Somerset and Gloucestershire, a high-profile challenge to cuts proposed by the London Borough of Brent failed in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
A challenge to the Isle of Wight Council’s plans for its library service also failed after a High Court judge ruled that it had not been brought in time.
Philip Hoult
