Care home residents lose mobile library services

East Sussex County Council aims to cut the annual cost of its mobile library services from £259,600 to £128,000 whilst minimising the impact on residents and saving taxpayers £131,600.

90 of the 127 stops currently scheduled will be unaffected whilst stops in 16 communities will be combined because they are less than a mile apart. All visits will now be every three weeks rather than fortnightly.

Cllr Chris Dowling said: “Making savings is not always about cutting services, but making them more efficient. We have ensured that every resident that relies on the service still has access in one way or another.”

However, visits to 21 care homes and sheltered housing settings will be axed and replaced with the existing Care Home Service and Home Library Service which offer either free bulk loans of books and audio books, or a volunteer home delivery of library items.

Cllr Dowling added: “We believe these changes will have minimal impact.”