Big Society trouble-shooter urges David Cameron to get on the phone to his local Council!

Big Society trouble-shooter urges David Cameron to get on the phone to his local Council!

“Yet again a County Councils are missing the Big Society opportunity. You don’t save money by swapping staff for volunteers, that just makes services less professional and will in time lead to closure,” said Robert Ashton, one of Britain’s most successful social entrepreneurs.

Mr Ashton was addressing councillors in the constituencies of David Cameron and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, both of whom have announced that they will remove professional staff from libraries and replace them with volunteers.

Critics of Mr Cameron’s ideas have constantly criticised the Big Society by citing that it will simply be used to cover up spending cuts.

“The Council’s simply do not understand,” said Mr Ashton. “Big Society should be about adding appeal, adding income and adding opportunity. For example, libraries could start serving coffee and cakes, charge people for help getting to grips with the internet, host exhibitions, or sell local produce. The Big Society has to add value to existing amenities; they need to make the library a vibrant community hub,” explained Mr Ashton.

Oxfordshire County Council announced last month that paid staff are to be removed from six libraries in David Cameron’s Witney constituency and replaced with volunteers. The good news is that libraries in Banbury, Chipping Norton and Witney are to be kept open – all within the Prime Minister’s constituency.

“Oxfordshire Council should be empowering the staff they already have. They need to create an environment where staff can be creative and work with their local community to make the libraries profitable. Libraries are about knowledge, not just books!” said Mr Ashton.