COUNTY councillors have issued a constitutional challenge to the cabinet’s decision on library cuts and issued a ‘call-in.’ The call-in will be reviewed today by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which will decide whether to dismiss it or ask the cabinet to review its decision on library cuts. The council must explain the decisions were made taking into account the issues of the legal status of the new library policy. The library policy must be fair to residents across the county and include properly considered plans for the future. "With reckless abandon the Tories at Shire Hall are destroying the county’s library service," said Cllr Jeremy Hilton, leader of the Liberal Democrat group.

"That is why the Liberal Democrat group has called-in the library plans approved by the Tory cabinet on the 2nd of February.

"The business planning behind the proposals is woeful, and many communities in Gloucestershire will suffer from the loss of their library because of political dogma and incompetence.

"Communities are being treated differently with some communities retaining their library for six days a week whilst others with an equal sized population are getting a just few hours, run by volunteers or closed.

"Our call-in challenges the administration to prove their case and to answer fundamental questions about fairness and legality."