Guidance

Why consider an alternative delivery model?

Published 28 March 2017

1. Overview

The significant pressures facing councils and library services have led many to start considering whether their current delivery model is the right one. While library services may be able to redesign their in-house service to meet immediate pressures, their positioning within the council may make them less able to sustain future funding reductions or react to changes in customer expectations.

The process of deciding to establish a library service as an alternative delivery model (ADM) can be complex. What is right for one library service may not be right for another. Each library service will face a range of local challenges and expectations in relation to the particular needs of the local communities they serve, in addition to the national pressures being experienced across the sector.

Considering whether a library service’s current delivery model is the right one is an important step that requires careful thought. The process allows the library service and council to identify the barriers to development and sustainability, and consider whether an ADM would better allow the library service to realise its full potential.

Considering the suitability of ADMs does not start an irreversible process – investigating the desirability, viability and feasibility of various models may result in the library service concluding that the current delivery model is the right one. But the process may signal that one or more ADMs warrant further investigation.

2. Alternative delivery models across the public sector

Councils have always had the legal power to make use of different forms of service delivery. Following the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering in the Local Government Act 1988, councils were legally required to open many of their services to competitive tender. This requirement was replaced by the ‘Best Value’ regime under the Local Government Act 1999, after which many forms of alternative service provision have continued to flourish.

Under the previous coalition government, the 2011 Open Public Services White Paper promoted greater use of different forms of service delivery. Changes to local government funding during the 2010-15 Parliament also obliged councils to experiment with alternative forms of service delivery, seek to reduce overheads, and explore new means to raise revenue.

A range of ADMs have been established across various sectors including libraries, adult social care, children’s services, health services, adult education, youth services and building control. The requirement for councils to reduce the level of funding allocated to services has often been the driving force behind the development of these new models. However other issues such as encouraging increased engagement with staff and communities, promoting innovation and reducing dependence on council funding have also encouraged library services to investigate and establish new models.

3. Why are library services establishing themselves as alternative delivery models?

This section provides an insight as to why 4 library services decided to explore the concept of establishing as an ADM.

Explore York Libraries & Archives Mutual Limited (previously York City Council Library & Archive Service)

We wanted to develop our vision further and it was too restricting being in the council. The council was part of the cooperative council network and so was keen to let services spin out. We wanted to keep the quality of service high and paid staff in all our libraries.

Inspire Culture, Learning and Libraries (previously Nottinghamshire County Council Library & Archive Service)

The council has a firm commitment to keep all libraries open and able to deliver the libraries strategy. The development of Inspire aims to enable the provision of sustainable services, whilst reducing costs. The core business case for the creation of Inspire was to initially make financial savings to ensure the range of services provided remained open and provided to the same level as in previous years. Through mandatory non domestic rate relief this was achieved, as exempt charitable status was given by HMRC in April 2016.

Libraries Unlimited (previously Devon County Council Library Service)

A major public consultation in the summer of 2014 on how the council could save £1.5 million from the library service (in addition to previous budget reductions), highlighted that the public wanted to retain all 50 libraries with paid members of staff. Across Devon’s communities, there was a sense of ambition for libraries to have even greater impact in the future and a willingness of local people to help the library service to sustain and grow. That appetite for change, and a rejection of an alternative ‘community-led’ option, led the council to undertake an options appraisal in the autumn of 2014. The options appraisal concluded that establishing an ADM provided the best opportunity to save money and to deliver the outcomes the council and local communities wanted to see.

Suffolk Libraries IPS Ltd (previously Suffolk County Council Library Service)

There was a council library review in 2011, an options appraisal and a political review to consider divestment. The council at the time had already decided to become a commissioning body rather than a service provider. The decision to divest was taken in November 2011.

4. Will establishing as an alternative delivery model be right for every library service?

The decision to establish a library service as an ADM requires careful consideration. What works for one library service may not work for others. The process described in stages 1 to 7 provides a detailed description of the investigation process that will help each library service and council to identify the preferred option for their library service.

While the majority of delivery model options involve some form of externalisation, you should consider remaining in-house with re-engineering as a delivery model option in its own right during the options appraisal stage.

The investigation process is designed to help a library service identify the delivery model that best meets the needs of the service, staff, communities and other stakeholders. Should the full investigation process be followed, the service will be well placed to implement its function and address the challenges it faces.

But establishing a new delivery model is not a panacea. The right delivery model will need to be accompanied by changes to things like the library service’s organisational culture and decision making processes; how it engages with stakeholders; how it procures services and manages the service’s operating model; and how it delivers its various functions. Without a commitment to ‘delivering differently’, the library service runs the risk of doing more of the same within its new delivery model.

The next section of this toolkit explains the different types of alternative delivery models.