Comments from CILIP CEO Nick Poole, who said the cuts "undermine rights which are enshrined in the Equality Act, Human Rights Act and Public Libraries & Museums Act." “We have a situation where our national network of libraries is being dismantled while government fails to provide the guidance that local authorities need to provide the comprehensive and efficient library services they must, by statute, provide," Poole said. "These cuts are a totally false economy – they may or may not deliver limited short-term savings but in reality they do lasting damage to local people, communities and businesses." Poole added: "It is too easy to cut libraries because the fact they are statutory isn’t understood, explained or enforced. I urge all local authorities considering announcing cuts to libraries to put their plans on hold until there is clarity from the department of culture, media and sport (DCMS) about their legal duties to provide library services.”