THE contract resulting in John Laing Integrated Services (JLIS) taking over the running of Croydon's libraries should be signed within the next few weeks.
On Tuesday night, the council's scrutiny committee decided to make no formal recommendations to the cabinet about changing the decision to choose JLIS as the preferred bidder for the contract.
That decision was taken on delegated authority by Councillor Tim Pollard, the cabinet member for children, families and learning, a move which prompted both the ruling Tories and Labour opposition to call in the decision for scrutiny.
The Tory call-in was prompted by what scrutiny committee chair Councillor Steve Hollands said was a desire to see the decision debated in public.
And by the end of the debate they were happy with Cllr Pollard's assurances that it would mean an improved library service in the borough.
But the Labour vice-chairman of the committee, Councillor Sean Fitzsimons, branded allowing Cllr Pollard the authority to select a preferred bidder without consultation with councillors as "an affront to democracy".
There was also a warning at the meeting to Tory councillors from Norbury resident Sean Creighton that the people of Croydon remained unhappy with the outsourcing of the libraries.
He suggested the Local Government Ombudsman and the District Auditor would be asked by library campaigners to examine the details of the bidding process.
The Tories originally backed the idea of outsourcing the service after pulling back, in the light of massive public opposition, from original cost-cutting plans which would have seen the closure of six branch libraries.
JLIS was granted preferred bidder status earlier this year but a second round of bidding was forced on the council after problems arose over pension arrangements for staff transferring to the company.
The new round saw JLIS up against Greenwich Leisure but Cllr Pollard told the committee: "JLIS offered the best mix of price and quality of service."
The council is keeping the price of the contract confidential but Cllr Pollard said there would be significant savings.
At the same time, he said no libraries would close, the overall total of opening hours would be maintained and there would be investment in new IT services and the introduction of WiFi in all branches.
The new contract is due to start in October and last for eight years.
Cllr Pollard said after the meeting that officers would now be putting the final legal touches to the contract.
