Cumberland Council’s vision is to deliver inclusive services shaped by residents and communities. Its aim is to improve health and wellbeing, prosperity, and environmental outcomes for all.
Key strategic priorities:
- addressing inequalities
- building local economies that work for local people
- promoting environmental resilience and tackling the climate emergency
- delivering excellent public services
Core values:
- compassionate
- innovative
- empowering
- ambitious
- collaborative
The Council defines its delivery model through the ‘Cumberland Approach’, which includes:
- accessible and trusted services
- listening, involving and engaging residents
- learning and improving
- prevention and early intervention
- collaborative working across sectors
- local-first service delivery
- driving change and sustainability
The Council’s Prevention Approach (2025 to 2030) aims to embed prevention across all council services and partnerships. It defines prevention as a proactive and collaborative approach to enhance health and wellbeing, prevent problems before they arise, and stop existing issues from worsening.
Vision for Prevention
To empower residents, and those acting on their behalf, at any stage of their life to build the independence and resilience necessary to achieve positive outcomes in a financially sustainable way.
Three Strategic Aspirations:
- create inclusive opportunities for residents of all ages to thrive
- proactively meet residents where they are, in a way that works for them
- equip teams with the right tools to support residents effectively and early
Libraries are integral to Cumberland’s community hub model and prevention strategy. They serve as accessible, trusted spaces where residents can receive early help, digital access, and community support.
Libraries contribute by:
- acting as local hubs for council and partner services
- offering non-stigmatising access to support and information
- reducing isolation and promoting digital inclusion
- supporting pilots like the Workington Community Hub, which demonstrated positive resident outcomes
Cumberland Council’s strategic direction is rooted in inclusive, preventative, and place-based principles. Libraries are key enablers of this vision, helping deliver early help, community engagement, and improved wellbeing across the region.
Cumberland Council Library Service Self Assessment
As part of this process the Library Service has undertaken an assessment of service delivery within the context set out in this strategic needs assessment.
As part of this review, feedback was also captured about challenges the library service face internally in delivering services and concerns about developing services.
Staff were proud of the service they provide, they get feedback from their customers and believe they deliver much of what their stakeholders want so have a good basis on which to build.
Their primary concerns relating to capacity and resources.
Capacity in the service is already a challenge with resources often spread too thin resulting in unstable and unsustainable service provision. Libraries are frequently having unplanned closures due to lack of staff to maintain the service offer, negatively affecting customers’ experience.
Despite aspirations to develop and enhance services within libraries there is concern that budget restrinctions and reductions (facing all council services) will be a constraint and parameter within which the service will need to operate and this may impede their ability to develop services as they would like to.
A more recent concern arising is an increase in incidents occurring in libraries putting staff in unsafe and challenging situations resulting from members of the public being either abusive or presenting challenging mental health issues. The need to ensure staff are safe is putting futher pressure on capacity as sites previously manned by one member of staff may require additional resource for safety reasons.