Can you help?
Herefordshire Council Cabinet will be discussing the future of its Museum, Library and Archives Services at its public meeting next Thursday, June 28th at 10am at the Shire Hall, Hereford. The Council’s main aim is to achieve further ongoing budget cuts.

It’s very important that the Council is made aware of Service users’ and the public’s views about whether the Council should ‘outsource’ the Museum Service (and the other Services) based on lowest cost tender.

HMSSG’s key points about the Council’s decisions are set out in our flyer: our message is that we commend a well-researched Partnership model where a Trust could invest in the future of the Museum Service.. Any other option – including keeping the now much-reduced Museum Service entirely within the Council or ‘outsourcing’ to the cheapest bidder – will mean an ‘austerity’ future of decreased funding, decreased service and decreased access to the Museum Collections.

Why not write to your own Councillor and/or to a Cabinet Member about this during this week? Find out their contact details at:
http://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1

An effective way to make the Council aware of your views is for individuals to send a public Question to be asked at the Cabinet meeting on 28th June. We hope as many people as possible will take that opportunity, in order to show the Council and the Cabinet that we care deeply about the future of the Museum. Full information about how to send in a Question to the Cabinet meeting can be found on the Council’s website at:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/info/200148/your_council/61/get_involved/3
It’s important to follow these guidelines when sending your Question.
(This link also enables you to see questions that have been asked in the last 6 months.)

Do read the above link for full information about getting a Question accepted, but some key points to note are:
the question must be received by the Council three full working days before the day of the meeting – that’s by Sunday night of the 24th June;
questions must be no more that 140 words;
if you attend the Cabinet meeting in person you may, if you wish, read out the question yourself and if you do that you can ask an additional Supplementary question; asking a Supplementary question can be a very effective way to gain Councillors’ attention.
Agenda and papers for the Cabinet meeting will be available at least 5 days before the meeting itself via the following link:
http://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=251&Year=0
Viewing those papers could give you ideas about how to phrase your question.

Duplicate or similar questions will not be allowed, and so it’s best if everyone formulates their own questions to raise their own specific points and priorities. (A few examples of themes that could be raised in your questions are listed below.)

Please read the attached Flyer and support your Museum Service by writing to your Councillor, writing to a Cabinet Member, and/or sending in a written question to the Cabinet meeting.

Lobbying: People from various Support Groups are gathering at Shire Hall on the 28th June from 9am onwards before the Cabinet meeting starts, to show public support for the future of the Services. (Please note the Cabinet meeting is at 10 am, not 2pm as stated in the Flyer.)