Thanks to General Synopsis for this opinion piece, based on research by Tony Hirst, where the General raises questions about the Isle of Wight council’s library consultation document – Ed.
Monday is the last day for formally telling the IW Council what we think of their plans to cull our libraries. Few people won’t by now know that we top the national league for closures, with nine of the 11 earmarked to lose council funding.
Listening hasn’t been a strong point
Listening to opposing views hasn’t so far proved a notable feature of our rulers’ skill set – their MP, the Local Government Minister and David Cameron himself, have all been studiously ignored in the the last month – but the rest of us shouldn’t give them any excuse to misunderstand local feeling.
We’ve included the consultation document at the end of this article. It looks impressive, doesn’t it? Glossy, even. Lots of nice coloured panels, Q & A’s, all that sort of thing. Someone who knows what they’re doing is behind this, obviously.
Government guidelines
But wait a minute. We’ve unearthed a set of government guidelines telling councils how they should go about these consultation exercises. There are seven criteria. Some of them are a bit obtuse, but the first one isn’t at all obtuse.
Criterion 1 – When to consult
“Formal consultation should take place at a stage when there is scope to influence the policy outcome.”
Nor is this one.
Criterion 6 – Responsiveness of consultation exercises
“Consultation responses should be analysed carefully and clear feedback should be provided to participants following the consultation.”
Right then. The consultation ends on Monday. A final decision is going to be made on February 23, so the papers for that meeting will have to be with councillors and on the Internet by close of play on Tuesday, February 15. So in six working days, the Council is required to:
- ** Analyse the findings and present that analysis to the full Council and to the rest of us. Let’s remind ourselves at this stage that there are 40 councillors, not 24, and that the non-Conservatives, habitually treated like mushrooms (keep them in the dark and shower them with manure from time to time), are just as entitled to see some “careful analysis” of the consultation results as are the Pugh Party.
- ** Give all groups on the Council the time and opportunity to bring forward policy proposals “influenced” by the consultation results.
“No alternative” has been the cry
If this implausible timescale hadn’t worn the credibility of the exercise thin enough, just remember the worn record we’ve been hearing for months now about there being no alternative. There are some telling pointers, too, in the consultation document itself as to just how seriously any counter-argument is going to be treated.
Back to those pretty yellow boxes. “The council has had no choice but to take the difficult decision to reduce the amount it spends on libraries.” No mention of February 23 there. Ah, but here’s one: “Councillors will decide on the libraries’ future on 23 February 2011 at Full Council. At least five sites will have to close at 31 March 2011.” Read those last two sentences again slowly.
Consultation is required
It does seem pretty clear that this consultation exercise is being carried out not because Pugh and Co want to do it, or because they intend to take any notice of the results. They’re doing it because they’re required to, and they’re not even doing what they’re required to properly.
Thank goodness, then, that this flawed formal consultation is only one of very many ways in which Islanders can make, and are making, their feelings clear to the ruling clique. Some of them are already feeling the heat, and right up until February 23 there remains the opportunity to press home the message: “These are our libraries, not yours. Take them away from us and there are things we can take away from you, like your job.”
Read the glossy tract and send in a response, certainly. Make it capable of only one interpretation. But it’s not over until the fat lady sings.
Last chance
Tomorrow is the last day to provide your responses on the libraries. Send them to [email protected]
