WHILE having sympathy with Coun Lynne Jeffries’ criticism (Letters, June 14) of the “hollowing out of the Library Service,” she misses the bigger picture.

The axing of library staff is the forerunner to the creation of a library community benefit society to run the libraries.

This society will be run by the same officers, but they will leave the council’s employ to take control of a trust which, although largely financed by the council, will be independent and responsible for its own operation.

What they then pay themselves, they alone will decide. There will be no power of veto from elected councillors, for whom there is no place on the board of directors, or any other level.

Even more worrying is what the “streamlining” by the new trust will entail by way of redundancies and library closures in an effort to make itself fit for purpose, which is probably why even UNISON is against it – their own trade union.

The axing of staff is the first stage in the preparation of becoming a trust with the cost of any redundancies being borne by the council now, and not by the trust when it is set up.

What Labour is after is off-loading responsibility for the libraries and any possible criticism that goes with the running of them.

Coun George Barton, Deputy leader of the Conservative group, City of York Council.