Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to commission research into the value of mobile libraries to ensure changing usage patterns keep up with the rise of digital resources.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Arts Council England collects data from local authorities and publishes a basic dataset of information on public libraries in England. The dataset for 2022 shows the number of libraries in England (both statutory and non-statutory) from April 2010 to 31 December 2022, and includes information on the number of mobile vehicles operating. It can be found here.
The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 requires all local authorities to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service, and each local authority is responsible for determining how best to meet the needs of its communities, including the appropriateness of mobile library provision. The funding and costs of providing mobile library provision is a matter for individual local authorities; therefore, no such data are held by DCMS.
The Government’s Libraries Improvement Fund is investing £20.5 million in over 90 library services to upgrade their buildings and technology to reflect the changing needs of users. This funding includes supporting the purchase of a new mobile library vehicle in North Yorkshire and also in Warwickshire to deliver the first sensory mobile public library in the UK.
We will be publishing a refreshed Government strategy for public libraries later this year, informed by the independent review of English public libraries conducted by Baroness Sanderson of Welton. The forthcoming strategy will set out our plans to ensure that people across the country can benefit from excellent library services, and HM Government will explore opportunities to increase library use and engagement in line with Baroness Sanderson’s independent review recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what funding and support is currently given to mobile libraries that service remote or under-served communities.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Arts Council England collects data from local authorities and publishes a basic dataset of information on public libraries in England. The dataset for 2022 shows the number of libraries in England (both statutory and non-statutory) from April 2010 to 31 December 2022, and includes information on the number of mobile vehicles operating. It can be found here.
The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 requires all local authorities to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service, and each local authority is responsible for determining how best to meet the needs of its communities, including the appropriateness of mobile library provision. The funding and costs of providing mobile library provision is a matter for individual local authorities; therefore, no such data are held by DCMS.
The Government’s Libraries Improvement Fund is investing £20.5 million in over 90 library services to upgrade their buildings and technology to reflect the changing needs of users. This funding includes supporting the purchase of a new mobile library vehicle in North Yorkshire and also in Warwickshire to deliver the first sensory mobile public library in the UK.
We will be publishing a refreshed Government strategy for public libraries later this year, informed by the independent review of English public libraries conducted by Baroness Sanderson of Welton. The forthcoming strategy will set out our plans to ensure that people across the country can benefit from excellent library services, and HM Government will explore opportunities to increase library use and engagement in line with Baroness Sanderson’s independent review recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the (1) total, and (2) regional, cost of providing mobile libraries; how are those figures split between capital and running costs; and what are the comparable figures for each year since 2009.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Arts Council England collects data from local authorities and publishes a basic dataset of information on public libraries in England. The dataset for 2022 shows the number of libraries in England (both statutory and non-statutory) from April 2010 to 31 December 2022, and includes information on the number of mobile vehicles operating. It can be found here.
The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 requires all local authorities to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service, and each local authority is responsible for determining how best to meet the needs of its communities, including the appropriateness of mobile library provision. The funding and costs of providing mobile library provision is a matter for individual local authorities; therefore, no such data are held by DCMS.
The Government’s Libraries Improvement Fund is investing £20.5 million in over 90 library services to upgrade their buildings and technology to reflect the changing needs of users. This funding includes supporting the purchase of a new mobile library vehicle in North Yorkshire and also in Warwickshire to deliver the first sensory mobile public library in the UK.
We will be publishing a refreshed Government strategy for public libraries later this year, informed by the independent review of English public libraries conducted by Baroness Sanderson of Welton. The forthcoming strategy will set out our plans to ensure that people across the country can benefit from excellent library services, and HM Government will explore opportunities to increase library use and engagement in line with Baroness Sanderson’s independent review recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the (1) total, and (2) regional, number of mobile libraries currently in operation; and what are the comparable figures for each year since 2009.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Arts Council England collects data from local authorities and publishes a basic dataset of information on public libraries in England. The dataset for 2022 shows the number of libraries in England (both statutory and non-statutory) from April 2010 to 31 December 2022, and includes information on the number of mobile vehicles operating. It can be found here.
The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 requires all local authorities to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service, and each local authority is responsible for determining how best to meet the needs of its communities, including the appropriateness of mobile library provision. The funding and costs of providing mobile library provision is a matter for individual local authorities; therefore, no such data are held by DCMS.
The Government’s Libraries Improvement Fund is investing £20.5 million in over 90 library services to upgrade their buildings and technology to reflect the changing needs of users. This funding includes supporting the purchase of a new mobile library vehicle in North Yorkshire and also in Warwickshire to deliver the first sensory mobile public library in the UK.
We will be publishing a refreshed Government strategy for public libraries later this year, informed by the independent review of English public libraries conducted by Baroness Sanderson of Welton. The forthcoming strategy will set out our plans to ensure that people across the country can benefit from excellent library services, and HM Government will explore opportunities to increase library use and engagement in line with Baroness Sanderson’s independent review recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to support and provide direct funding for Tate and Art Explora’s Mobile Museum to enable it to resume so that the collection can tour around some of the country’s most deprived communities.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Like the Noble Lord, I was delighted to visit the Mobile Museum when it visited Tate Britain on 13 May and to hear how it has been bringing exceptional art from our national collection to people across the country. Its recent, specially-curated exhibition, 'Soup, Socks and Spiders! Art of the Everyday' focusing on still lifes, was shared with people in Nuneaton, Walsall, Ashfield, Wigan, Rotherham, Stoke-on-Trent, Tarporley and Runcorn. I was delighted to learn more about the education and engagement this involved, and to be able to express my Department’s support for the project. My officials and I will continue to discuss this and other aspects of its work with Tate, as one of our arm’s-length bodies.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the Department of Culture, Media and Sport distinguishes and accounts for different income scenarios when collecting and analysing data related to visual artists, for example, where the artists derive their main income from sources other than their artistic endeavours.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) publishes official statistics on earnings in the sectors and occupations for which it has policy responsibility. These statistics focus on how much is earned by an individual in a particular job, rather than providing information on an individuals’ total earnings.
We publish the following estimates of earnings:
Based on the Office for National Statistics (ONS)’s Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, we publish median annual and weekly earnings for any job in a DCMS sector. This would include anyone working in, for example, the cultural subsector of ‘Arts’ and the creative industries subsector ‘Music, performing and visual arts’. Earnings of visual artists who are self-employed or who work in industries outside these statistics would not be captured in these earnings estimates.
Based on ONS’s Annual Population Survey, we publish hourly gross pay estimates for any self-identified main job in a DCMS sector. Using the same data source, we also publish hourly gross pay estimates for any self-identified main job in a DCMS creative occupation. This would include, for example, Artists (SOC 3411) and Graphic Designers (SOC 3421).
We recently asked users of our statistics for feedback on these estimates and are considering our plans for these publications in the future.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the Department of Culture, Media and Sport captures information about visual artists’ overall income when they derive their main income from sources other than their artistic endeavours.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) publishes official statistics on earnings in the sectors and occupations for which it has policy responsibility. These statistics focus on how much is earned by an individual in a particular job, rather than providing information on an individuals’ total earnings.
We publish the following estimates of earnings:
Based on the Office for National Statistics (ONS)’s Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, we publish median annual and weekly earnings for any job in a DCMS sector. This would include anyone working in, for example, the cultural subsector of ‘Arts’ and the creative industries subsector ‘Music, performing and visual arts’. Earnings of visual artists who are self-employed or who work in industries outside these statistics would not be captured in these earnings estimates.
Based on ONS’s Annual Population Survey, we publish hourly gross pay estimates for any self-identified main job in a DCMS sector. Using the same data source, we also publish hourly gross pay estimates for any self-identified main job in a DCMS creative occupation. This would include, for example, Artists (SOC 3411) and Graphic Designers (SOC 3421).
We recently asked users of our statistics for feedback on these estimates and are considering our plans for these publications in the future.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the Department of Culture, Media and Sport ensures accuracy and comprehensiveness in capturing the financial details of visual artists who may have diverse income streams.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) publishes official statistics on earnings in the sectors and occupations for which it has policy responsibility. These statistics focus on how much is earned by an individual in a particular job, rather than providing information on an individuals’ total earnings.
We publish the following estimates of earnings:
Based on the Office for National Statistics (ONS)’s Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, we publish median annual and weekly earnings for any job in a DCMS sector. This would include anyone working in, for example, the cultural subsector of ‘Arts’ and the creative industries subsector ‘Music, performing and visual arts’. Earnings of visual artists who are self-employed or who work in industries outside these statistics would not be captured in these earnings estimates.
Based on ONS’s Annual Population Survey, we publish hourly gross pay estimates for any self-identified main job in a DCMS sector. Using the same data source, we also publish hourly gross pay estimates for any self-identified main job in a DCMS creative occupation. This would include, for example, Artists (SOC 3411) and Graphic Designers (SOC 3421).
We recently asked users of our statistics for feedback on these estimates and are considering our plans for these publications in the future.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce a code of conduct to ensure that the remuneration provided to artists engaged by UK National Museums and Galleries meets or exceeds the national minimum living wage.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Creative and cultural practitioners are vital to the work of our museums and galleries: they bring independent visions and ideas, and offer highly developed specialist skills to the work of these institutions.
As the national museums and galleries operate at arm’s length from His Majesty's Government, the Department does not monitor payments made to artists or any other people working as contractors or freelancers at them.
While the Government has no plans to introduce a code of conduct, Arts Council England — the publicly-funded development agency for the arts and museums — has produced guidance outlining best practice for working with freelancers, without whom so much of the creative and cultural sectors could not operate. This is complemented by guidance from sector organisations such as the Museums Association.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidelines, policies, or codes of conduct exist that govern the remuneration provided to artists engaged by UK National Museums and Galleries; and what mechanisms are in place to monitor and enforce adherence to these standards.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Creative and cultural practitioners are vital to the work of our museums and galleries: they bring independent visions and ideas, and offer highly developed specialist skills to the work of these institutions.
As the national museums and galleries operate at arm’s length from His Majesty's Government, the Department does not monitor payments made to artists or any other people working as contractors or freelancers at them.
While the Government has no plans to introduce a code of conduct, Arts Council England — the publicly-funded development agency for the arts and museums — has produced guidance outlining best practice for working with freelancers, without whom so much of the creative and cultural sectors could not operate. This is complemented by guidance from sector organisations such as the Museums Association.