Speeches

Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many public libraries were open in England in each year since 2010.

Mr Rob Wilson

I am responding as Minister with responsibility for Libraries policy.

Data relating to public libraries is collected and published annually in December by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. The following table indicates the number of library service points within the statutory public library services of local authorities that are open ten or more hours per week, as at 31 March for each year.

Total number of public libraries in England open 10+ hours per week

2010

3,428

2011

3,393

2012

3,243

2013

3,181

2014

3,142

2015

3,076

The Libraries Taskforce recently commissioned from local authorities in England basic data regarding the numbers and types of public libraries available within each local authority. The data will assist the library sector and users to monitor the delivery of library services.