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The Law on Library Closure Challenges

The Law on Library Closure Challenges. Speak Up For Libraries Conference 10 th November 2012. Public Interest Lawyers (“PIL”) .

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The Law on Library Closure Challenges

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  1. The Law on Library Closure Challenges Speak Up For Libraries Conference 10th November 2012

  2. Public Interest Lawyers (“PIL”) • Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) are law firm based in Birmingham, which has an international reputation for its work, exclusively focussed on claimant judicial review and human rights law - www.publicinterestlawyers.co.uk • JR Library challenge cases: • Gloucestershire & Somerset councils (challenges to planned library closures of static and mobile libraries). • Surrey council (challenge to library closures. • Doncaster council and Mayor (Challenge to use of allocated funds for libraries)

  3. Brief History & Development of Library Regulation • 1850 first Public Libraries Act - power to town councils to levy a small & establish public libraries in all municipal towns. • Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 (“PLMA 1964”) - most recent legislation governing the provision of public libraries. Imposed duties on both local library authorities and Secretary of State for a comprehensive and effective library service. • Department for Culture, Media and Sport (“DCMS”) overall responsibility for national library policy. • Maria Miller - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport • Ed Vaizey - Minister responsible for Libraries. • Local authorities are responsible for the library service in their areas.  

  4. The Law – Basic Framework • What do we mean by ‘the law’? • Rules governing everyone • Legislation • Statutory Duties • Statutory Powers • How is the law enforced? • Judicial Review Basics • Public Body? • Grounds: Unfairly, Irrationally, Unreasonably • Standing & Capacity • Pre-Action Protocol • Time-limits

  5. The Law – Details • Legislation • Public Libraries & Museums Act (PLMA) 1964 • Library Authority’s duties: • s.7(1) – to provide a “comprehensive and efficient library service” • s.7(2) – must keep adequate stocks and encourage people to make use of libraries • Secretary of States’ duties: • s.1(1) – Duty to “oversee and promote” library services • s.10(1) – Power to take action where library authority fails

  6. The Law – Details (cont.) • Legislation (cont.) • Equalities Act 2010 • s.149 - Public Sector Equality Duties (PSED) • Apply to all public bodies • “Due regard” to : • eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation • advance equality of opportunity • foster good relations • Protected characteristics: age, disability, race, sex, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender, marriage, pregnancy

  7. The Law – Details (cont.) • Duty to consult • No specific duty to consult • But, if consultation started it must: • Consult in good time • Enough information to those responding to consultation • Enough time for responses • Genuine consideration of responses

  8. The Law • Why are these statutory duties important? • Impose legal duties on councils • Provide powers to SS to monitor councils • Set a standard of service • Means by which we can legally hold and SS and councils to account

  9. PIL’s Library Cases (1) Green -v- Gloucestershire County Council & Rowe & Hird -v- Somerset Council [2011] EWHC 2687 (Admin) • GCC proposed to withdraw funding from 10 of 38 static libraries & withdraw entirely mobile library service • SCC proposed cuts to 11 (of 34) static libraries & 4 (of 6) mobile library services. • High Court planned library closures were unlawful due to the Councils’ breach of their statutory equality duties. • Court quashed all the relevant library closure decisions by both councils. • Judge strongly condemned the Councils’ decisions to close the libraries - “not merely unlawful but amounted to bad government” • Judge awarded Claimants all of their costs which enabled the return of monies provided by local residents to support the cases. • The Councils were refused permission to appeal.

  10. PIL’s Library Cases (2) Williams & Dorrington -v- Surrey County Council [2012] EWHC 867 (QB) • Council planned for 10 libraries to be run by volunteers, in an aim to keep its 52 libraries open • The Claimants argued that the Council: • Did not give due regard to the PSED implications before making a decision. • Did not give due regard to the equality impacts of the decision • Did not address the specific factual matters and concerns arising from the consultation • Thus there was an absence of a rigorous and open minded consideration and a failure to discharge the statutory duty to give due regard pursuant to s149. • High Court – Held: • The Council decision to remove all paid staff was unlawful. • The Council had failed in its duty to have due regard to PSED (s.149 EqA 2010) • Justice Wilkie – “it is not necessary for a local authority to consider such issues to the nth degree of detail or ad infinitum, but a summary of what, it was now anticipated, the training needs would be and how they might be met was, in my judgment, an irreducible minimum to enable the cabinet to give this issue due regard at that stage.”

  11. PIL’s Library Cases (3) Buck –v- Doncaster County Council • Different type of challenge • Claimant used local library Scawthorpe. • The Council's executive (directly-elected Mayor & Cabinet) wish to replace employed staff in local library services with volunteers or self-service facilities to save public money. Although the full Council wanted to retain the level of library services and had allocated a budget for this. • Claimant challenged the decision of Council executive not spend the money allocated by the full Council in the budget to preserve and restore the local library services. • HELD: Application dismissed. • Executive decision had been made properly. • Judge: “it would be a remarkable invasion of the executive function of the Mayor if, as part of the budgetary process, the full Cabinet could interfere and reverse such an executive decision by amending the budget to give, not only an allocation of funds for the library service, but a direction that the funds must be spent and spent precisely in accordance with the direction that they have made.”

  12. Funding Legal Challenges • Legal Aid • Eligible without full means assessment if in receipt of IS, ESA, JSA (IB) or PC • Full means assessment otherwise • Community Contributions • Groups supporting challenges • Contributions may be sought • Arise where there is reasonably ascertainable group of people other than the claimant(s) who can be reasonably expected to contribute to the cost of litigation.

  13. Alternatives to Legal Challenges • Court action should be a last resort • Campaigning & Lobbying • Inquiries • The Wirral Inquiry and The Charteris Report • The Arts Council

  14. Public Interest Lawyers 8 Hylton Street, Birmingham, B18 6HN. Tel: 0121 5155069 Fax: 0121 5155129 Website: www.publicinterestlawyers.co.uk Email: info@publicinterestlawyers.co.uk

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