COUNCIL bosses will look at spending more money on library books after a meeting of the Libraries Working Group raised concerns about the current stock.

Figures revealed the amount of money budgeted to be spent on books by LiveWire has more than halved in the past three years, from £1.13 per resident per year in 2013 to just 50p per person in 2016.

At an earlier meeting of the working group LiveWire confirmed the 2017 budget for resources would remain the same as the 2016 fund, at £103,944.

But at a meeting at Stockton Heath Library on Friday, chair of the group and chief executive of Warrington Borough Council Prof Steve Broomhead said he would invite the council's executive board to review the amount of money spent on books and digital resources.

He said: “The impact of local government cuts have, of course, impacted on all aspects of libraries, including investment in book and digital stock.

“However, the working group recognises that a wide, varied and high quality selection of books and access to online resources is an important part of any investment in the future of our libraries.

"Therefore, I’ve agreed to put it to our executive board, as part of my final report, a specific recommendation to have a look at current library stock and to explore how this could be improved.”

Business plans to secure the future of Westbrook and Birchwood libraries were also presented at the meeting and the panel heard updates from Stockton Heath Library's own working group.

They also discussed plans to relocate Westbrook Library to the Westbrook District Centre redevelopment to make it more accessible and Birchwood Library could also be on the move, to Birchwood Leisure and Tennis Centre.

The group's final recommendations will be presented to council bosses in November.

The next meeting takes place on July 19 at Warrington Library and meeting papers can be found at warrington.gov.uk.