Schools: World War II Anniversary
Debate between Baroness Twycross and Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
I pay tribute to the noble Earl’s father’s role and to all those in your Lordships’ House who have served or are serving in various capacities in our Armed Forces. I am happy to agree with the noble Earl about the cadet forces. The Combined Cadet Force programme will continue to receive £3.6 million in government funding through the Ministry of Defence for this academic year. This funding supports the ambition for it to grow to 600,000 cadets in 500 school cadet units across the UK. It is in addition to the annual cost to the MoD of the Combined Cadet Force, which is estimated at over £42 million per year. I ought to note that my nephew benefits hugely from being a member of one of the cadet forces.
Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Con)
My Lords, as the Culture Minister who was responsible for the World War I commemorations, I first utterly reject the notion that Ministers were reluctant to commemorate the contribution of Commonwealth soldiers. I felt very strongly that their contribution was very much to the fore.
The Minister mentioned the Imperial War Museum. I urge her to include all our cultural institutions in the 80th anniversary commemorations, in particular our regimental museums, which are central to the services and their identity. They are funded by the Ministry of Defence and—this is not a criticism—I always feel that they are a bit of an orphan when it comes to thinking about our cultural strategy. So this will be an opportunity to really recognise the cultural contribution that our regimental museums make.
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
At DCMS, we are really keen for all museums with a relevant interest and those with a broader social role in telling the story of the people of Britain to take part. I had an initial conversation about the celebrations yesterday with my noble friend Lord Coaker and I will be happy to pick up the point the noble Lord raised.
Public Libraries
Debate between Baroness Twycross and Lord Vaizey of Didcot(5 months, 1 week ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
I have another minute and a half or so. I have heard noble Lords’ request for more time to discuss libraries going forward. It was helpful that the Chief Whip was here in the chair at the beginning and heard that.
I have covered the fact that the Secretary of State has a statutory power to intervene. DCMS monitors proposals by library authorities to make changes to their library service provision. Conversation with councils enables discussion of proposed changes to service provision and insights into local delivery. So far this year, the department has engaged, either in person or virtually, with 31 local authorities.
I will cover a couple more points that were raised. The noble Baroness, Lady Sanderson, asked whether DCMS will address the data black holes in libraries. I believe I have covered that, but we are keen to make sure that there is more robust, meaningful and consistent data so that councils can make sound decisions.
A number of noble Lords mentioned the British Library attack. DCMS remains in close discussion with it about the ongoing impact of the cyberattack. DCMS hugely values the British Library’s contribution to the library landscape, not just in this country but internationally, where it is a huge asset.
A library is not a stand-alone service, as highlighted by the range of points raised. It supports other public services to achieve outcomes vital for individuals, communities and the nation to flourish. The Government fully recognise the importance of libraries. They recognise the pressures facing public libraries and the important services they provide to local communities. The Government are committed to giving stability back to local councils so that services such as public libraries that they are responsible for can best meet the needs of those communities.
Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Con)
As we have so much time left in the debate, I will make a quick point following on from the excellent intervention by my noble friend Lady Bottomley—I do not know why noble Lords opposite were so grumpy about that. I remind the Minister that the one policy that central government has complete control of is the public lending right. I would be interested to hear whether she will communicate with the Libraries Minister about the opportunity to review it, because the budget has been frozen for many years.