Victory over library service cuts proposals

Two local authorities wanting to cut library services to save money will have to go back to the drawing board after a High Court victory by campaigners.

A judge in London quashed closure decisions made by Somerset County Council and Gloucestershire County Council following a successful challenge by concerned residents.

The councils will have to reconsider their decisions after they were declared “unlawful” by Judge McKenna, sitting as a deputy High Court judge, because they failed to comply with “public sector equality duties”.

Campaigners launched legal action after learning that Somerset wanted to withdraw funding for 11 libraries and Gloucestershire County Council wanted to close 10 in a bid to cut costs.

Their lawyers said that for more than a year the campaigners had been “pointing to the disproportionate effect that the cuts would have on disadvantaged groups such as the elderly, single mothers and the disabled”.

Daniel Carey, of Public Interest Lawyers, said: “Today’s High Court ruling sends a clear message 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.”