Wirral MP calls on Ombudsman to review libraries decision

Feb 25 2009 by Matt Hurst, Heswall News

STEPHEN Hesford MP has called on the local government Ombudsman to declare Wirral Council’s strategic asset review unlawful.

The Wirral West MP held a press conference on Friday morning, ahead of travelling to York to personally deliver his 103- page analysis of the plans, branding them “maladminstered and inadequate”, “unfair and inequitable” and “wrongly budget led”.

Addressing dozens of residents outside Hoylake Library, Mr Hesford said: “This is a budget led process.

“They thought of a sum of money they wanted to save and then went and looked for libraries, never thinking about what services are needed.”

In his report, the Labour MP attacks the entire strategic asset review (SAR) process, calling it “an excessive response to what began life as a reasonably sedate review of buildings”.

He claims the SAR was “undoubtedly linked” to keeping council tax below 4%, thus making it unlawful, and that it “was and remains deeply unpopular with all sections of the community, in all areas of Wirral”.

Mr Hesford also slams the consultation process, saying it “was, and was meant to be, unresponsive” and states that “libraries cannot close because of simple financial expediency”.

The MP writes: “You only have to reflect that no other local authority has ever attempted to undertake such an exercise to realise that this is almost certainly because it is not necessary, nor is it a good idea.”

Speaking on Friday morning, Mr Hesford told the News: “The Ombudsman can look at the process and see whether it was fair and transparent, and I’m arguing in the report that it was not.”

Many of Hoylake’s library users feel they have been denied the opportunity to make their feelings known, or have simply been ignored.

Hoylake resident Corina Thompson said: “We’ve all been along to council meetings and they had clearly made up their minds a long time ago.

“We needed somebody to take it further.”

Stephen Hesford will also raise the case of the two other facilities in his constituency facing the axe, Irby and Woodchurch Libraries.

He writes: “Woodchurch Library was not part of the closure programme but ended up being closed.

“It was swapped from being safe to being closed so as to make up a shortfall in revenue savings due to the decision to reverse the closure of Upton Library.

“This cannot be right.”

Mr Hesford will ask the Ombudsman to demand new plans are drawn up and any closures suspended for two years.

A spokesman for Wirral Council said: “It is the right of any citizen to take any matter of concern to their local government Ombudsman.”

“We do not have the details at this time of the complaint, so cannot comment further.”

l Author’s radio rage - see page 8