To ask the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure for her assessment of the cuts to funding for local public services which has led to Libraries NI making recent staff cuts; and what reassurances she can give to staff that her Department is working to mitigate the effects of funding cuts.

All service areas across my Department and its Arms Length Bodies have been affected by the recently announced budget reductions and are obliged to plan for savings of up to 4.4% in 2014/15. To meet this target, Libraries NI is required to prepare a revised budget to enable it to save £1.4m of its 2014/15 opening budget of £34.4m.

Decisions on how Libraries NI budget reductions are managed at local level across the Public Library Estate is a matter, in the first instance, for the Authority's Board and Senior Management Team. While the need to make these savings has the potential to impact on local public services, Libraries NI remains committed to doing all in its power to mitigate the effects and to quickly communicate these changes to its staff. To this end, work is already under way to try to reorganise permanent staff time tables. In addition, posts that were, until now, covered on a temporary basis by recently released recruitment agency staff will remain vacant until they can again be filled. My Department also stands ready to assist Libraries NI as it seeks to identify areas where savings might potentially be achieved through efficiencies.