Wirral Council leaders considered quitting over libraries report

Nov 11 2009 by Liam Murphy, Birkenhead News

library

He also denied he and council leader Steve Foulkes pre-empted the Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw, saying that “we do not know what his decision is going to be”, and adding that “it would not be unknown for the Secretary of State to take a different view on what an advisor tells them”.

Other sources have suggested that the report by Sue Charteris made for “grim” reading for the council.

In his email to Cllr Green, who has been furious that the Conservative group has not been made part of the fact-checking process, the council legal director Bill Norman said Ms Charteris had accepted some and rejected other changes to her report put forward by the council.

But he said in his opinion “no major changes were made to the draft Report”.

Ms Charteris’ report and decision by the Secretary of State are expected before or at the same time as a wider review of library provision being carried out by the Culture department, which is currently expected before the end of the year.