NEW ways of managing libraries, leisure services, arts and music in Herefordshire are to be put under the spotlight.

At a meeting of Herefordshire Council’s cabinet members heard a trio of possible options drawn up to provide more efficient ways to deliver a range of cultural services.

The council’s overview and scrutiny committee is now being asked to examine the options and ensure a broad range of views are considered including those who use the services.

Within the scope of the review is Halo, which runs the county’s leisure centres on behalf of the council, Hereford’s Courtyard Centre for the Arts, sports development, arts development and the council’s heritage services.

Councillor Roger Phillips, cabinet member for enterprise and culture, told the meeting the council did not have a statutory duty to provide the services.

He said: “The services are valued and add significantly to the quality of life right across the county. However, we need to look at the way these services are managed in the light of huge reductions in public expenditure. Unless we do this, we will not be able to sustain these services in the future.”