Introduction
Leeds City Council, like many Local Authorities, is probably in its most challenging financial position since 2011. This has been caused by;
- Reductions in funding from central government of over 30% of our budget in the last ten years.
- Increased costs due to the energy crisis.
- Rising cost of living, creating more demands on our services.
- Increased demand for social care rising by £46m over the past 12 years.
In addition to our financial challenge this year, we already know based on predictions we will need to save £58.4m next year, alongside £7.4m of already agreed savings; £60.6m the year after; and £46.1m the year after that. To date, we have had to find savings of £795m since 2010/11.
Customer Services, who manage community hubs and libraries, need to contribute to the overall savings target. In order for us to continue to deliver as efficient and effective a service as we can, whilst contributing to the Council’s financial challenge we would like to change our opening hours, resulting in some reduction. The Council has a specific statutory requirement to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service. and the proposed change in opening hours does not undermine this statutory duty.
The proposal to change opening hours has been included in the LCC December Executive board which can be found here, page 360:
Public reports pack 13th-Dec-2023 13.00 Executive Board.pdf (leeds.gov.uk)
Instructions
It should take you about 10 minutes to answer all the questions. The last day that you can respond is Monday 12th February 2024.
If you need to speak to someone about this consultation, or require translated, braille or audio versions of the consultation please email
leedslibraries@leeds.gov.uk or telephone 0113 378 5005.