Please ask for: Kelly Leeson
Reference: 16908398
Phone: +443000415985
Email:
xxx.xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxxxxxx.xxx
Date: 2 November 2020
Dear Mr Couchman-Sawyer
Thank you for your request for information made under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) 2000 relating to libraries. Please see the response provided below:
On 21 September 2020 you published an article on social media that said that
you would be closing 66 libraries across Kent. This decision was made without
public consultation and therefore is unlawful. It is important for all residents of
Kent to have access to library services including internet access and books.
Therefore I have several requests which I would like answers to, this is to
support an open letter which I am writing to the DCSM.
1. How many library staff have left since March 2020?
Library, Registration and Archives (LRA) Service Units Leavers between March 20 to
September 20
GT - LRA - Operations 36
GT - LRA - Specialist and Support Services 2
Grand Total 38
2. Please provide all accessibility risk assessments which were created to
support closing libraries and explain how you have mitigated against loneliness,
digital exclusion, rural locations, people with disabilities.
All libraries were closed further to Government mandate and to comply with the
lockdown in March 2020, therefore no risk assessments were required. As restrictions
have eased, Kent LRA have been taking a careful and phased approach to reopening
our libraries, with customer and staff safety taking primary consideration. This has
involved the completion of Covid19 secure specific risk assessments.
During the lockdown, our Befriending Service was established, where vulnerable
customers who normally use our Home Library and Postal Loan services received
regular telephone calls from LRA staff. This was also extended to our Mobile Library
customers. As soon as restrictions were eased, the first services to be resumed were
the Home Library and Postal Loan services, in recognition that some of these
customers would prefer a physical rather than digital service. These services are
available to all customers with disabilities. The Mobile Library service has also now
resumed to meet the needs of customers in more rural areas. Our online services have
also provided digital forms of events and activities so that it is still possible to connect
and interact with the service.
Our Ask a Kent librarian service which operates over the phone or email has continued
throughout the period.
3. How much money has been spent by KCC on libraries, registration and
archives for April 2018-2019, April 2019-2020 and April 2020 to date.
The gross revenue expenditure relating to KCC’s Libraries, Registration and Archives
Service for April 2018-2019, April 2019-2020 and April 2020 to date is as follows:
Gross
Expenditure
2018/19
£19,620,700
2019/20
£19,907,300
2020/21 to date (end of
£9,383,300
September)
4. Usage statistics for 2020 for all libraries.
Please refer to the Quarterly Performance Reports on the KCC website for usage
statistics: Council performance - Kent County Council
For Quarter 2 2020-21, library issues are as follows:
July
151,951
August
145,395
September
186,207
5. Please provide information about what alternative decisions were considered
and reasons why they were not used.
There were no safe and viable alternative decisions available and therefore the LRA
concentrated on providing an excellent virtual service including e-books, magazines,
the home library and postal loan services. Also established was a befriending service
where vulnerable customers received regular telephone calls from LRA staff.
6. Please confirm whether the DCMS were informed about the decision to close 2
thirds of the county's public library access.
Yes, the DCMS were informed, and we have been working to the guidelines on the
DCMS/Libraries Connected toolkit, details of which can be found at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-libraries-as-a-statutory-
service
7. What are KCC doing to ensure that people who do not have access can
continue to use their services.
Our Home Library Service is available to all customers who are unable to leave their
homes to access libraries, along with the Postal Loan Service for visually impaired
customers. Our Mobile libraries are back on the road to serve customers in rural
communities. Our digital offer continues to run parallel to our physical services, with
more eBooks and other eResources available free of charge to all LRA customers. We
are also looking at extended library opening hours at the sites we do have currently
open.
If you are unhappy with this response, and believe KCC has not complied with
legislation, you have 40 working days from the date of this response to ask for a review.
You can do this by following our complaints process; details can be found at this link
https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/complaints-and-compliments#tab-10 on our
website. Please quote reference 16908398.
If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you can appeal to the Information
Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Details of what you need to do, should you wish to pursue this course of action, are
available from the Information Commissioner’s w
ebsite http://ico.org.uk/concerns
Yours sincerely
Kelly Leeson
Information Access Officer
