A NEW reduced mobile library service will be introduced to East Lothian villages next month after it was suspended in December last year.

A joint service will be provided by Midlothian Council and Scottish Borders Trust, saving East Lothian Council more than £100,000 a year.

However, questions have been asked about the decision to get rid of the county’s own service amid claims the figures used to justify the decision did not represent the whole story.

A report to East Lothian’s cabinet committee on Tuesday advised members to note that the new service was being introduced and claimed 70 per cent of people using the service also used branch libraries.

However, it revealed the number of regular borrowers from the council’s mobile library service had plummeted from 1,199 in 2013-2014 to just 444 the following year after the largest of the council’s two vans was taken off the road, reducing the availability of the service.

And the 70 per cent of regulars using branch libraries were taken from the 444 regulars still accessing the reduced service in 2015.

In a report to cabinet, Eileen Morrison, the council’s customer services manager, said the fall in the number of regular borrowers and need to replace the existing vehicle had led to the decision that the service was no longer sustainable.

But she admitted the fall in users was directly linked to the removal of one of the vans from service.

Ms Morrison said the remaining van had been taken off the road in December and the decision had been taken not to replace it, as she did not believe it was a priority when the council was trying to reduce costs.

She told the cabinet: “I can’t run a mobile library service without a new vehicle. I can’t put in a request for capital when it is diminishing and there are other priorities.”

Instead, she looked into using the shared services of Midlothian Council and Scottish Borders Trust to provide the service, reducing the cost of providing the service from £129,334 when the council had both vehicles operating to just £15,000 for the following year.

Councillor Tim Day, the council spokesman for community and wellbeing, said the introduction of a shared local authority service was a “good news story”.

He said: “We clearly had a difficult decision to take when the remaining mobile library van reached the end of its life. Mobile libraries are expensive to operate but they do play an important role for those who can’t access the branch network so I am delighted that we have reached agreement with neighbouring councils to secure this provision.

“Having sat on the working group that developed a new national strategy for libraries, it’s clear that libraries are changing as technology advances and books only become part of the story. I’m pleased that this council is at the forefront of these developments.”

The decision to replace the service with one from neighbouring local authorities was criticised by the council’s opposition party because it was taken by officials without coming before councillors for discussion.

Councillor Stuart Currie, SNP opposition leader, said: “This is not improving services, it is budget cuts. It is not about effectively organising a better service but saving costs.

“I think these decisions should be brought before councillors, not taken by officials and presented as a fait accompli.”

The new service will cover Oldhamstocks and Innerwick, as well as Whitecraig, Pencaitland, Humbie, Macmerry, East Saltoun and Gifford.