Sutton Council is launching a public consultation on the future of the borough’s library service. The 12-week consultation will run from 23 September to 16 December 2015 through the council’s Sutton’s Future campaign – launched last year to involve residents in helping to make savings due to unprecedented government cuts.

It will include an online survey available at www.sutton.gov.uk/suttonsfuture, an independent telephone survey of 1,000 residents and a public meeting at Sutton Central Library on Saturday 14 November from 10am to 12 noon, where residents can discuss issues with councillors and find out more about the proposals.

The council is being forced to look at changes to the library service due to unprecedented government cuts to its annual budget. As a result, the council has to save £74m from its annual budget between 2011 and 2019. Our annual revenue budget is currently £148.4m (2015/16).

So far the council has saved £43m from its annual budget, with £11m of that through our Sutton’s Future campaign. There is a further £31m to go.  Sutton Council wants to achieve budget savings while ensuring that it maintains and, in some areas, potentially enhances library service provision. As part of the cost-cutting measures, the council has identified £1m of savings from the annual libraries, heritage and art budget which currently stands at £4.4m.

There are a number of options up for consultation, including the closure of Beddington Library and the discontinuation of the Mobile Library service. Other options include altering library opening hours, considering a community library model that increases the number of volunteers and volunteer roles, and sharing services with a neighbouring borough.

An enhanced housebound library service to cater for vulnerable residents is already being provided in partnership with Sutton’s Old People’s Welfare Committee, who provide Meals on Wheels services for the council.

Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee at Sutton Council, said:

“We have to reshape our library service so we can maintain the quality and customer standards people expect while also meeting the significant cuts being forced upon us by the government. Over the past four years, we have been able to make £43m of savings to our annual budget without our libraries being affected. Now, with a further £31m of savings needed, we have no choice but to change our frontline services. We know our residents hold our library service in high regard and we want to hear their views on proposals for the service so we can help shape Sutton’s Future together.”

In January 2015 Sutton Council adopted a Library Strategy for the borough’s library service, setting out the strategic and operational direction for the service to 2019. It has four key aims:

Literacy: growing the readers of the future.

• Meeting the needs of an aging population.
• Narrowing the digital divide.
• Creating a viable, sustainable and quality service within available budgets.