Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria and safeguards are in place to ensure that assets deemed essential to the well-being and cohesion of communities are adequately protected, while providing local councils with the necessary flexibility to manage their finances responsibly.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne

The department already has mechanisms in place to help with the safeguarding of local assets. A public or privately owned asset can be nominated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) if its principal use furthers the community’s social well-being. When a listed asset comes to be sold, a moratorium on the sale (of up to six months) may be invoked, providing local community groups with a better chance to raise finance, develop a business and bid to buy the asset on the open market.

The decision of whether an ACV nomination meets the statutory test set out in the Localism Act 2011 is a decision for the local authority and they must publish a list of their decisions. The Government does not hold a central list of this information or become involved in local decisions, as it is appropriate these issues are dealt with at a local level and local authorities are accountable to local people for the decisions they take.

Local groups can also apply to the £150 million Community Ownership Fund to protect treasured local assets which make the biggest difference to their community. We have already invested £103.2 million to support 333 projects across the UK.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of reports that some English councils will sell assets to fund services, what specific safeguards or criteria they plan to put in place to ensure that such sales do not compromise the protection of community cultural assets.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne

The department already has mechanisms in place to help with the safeguarding of local assets. A public or privately owned asset can be nominated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) if its principal use furthers the community’s social well-being. When a listed asset comes to be sold, a moratorium on the sale (of up to six months) may be invoked, providing local community groups with a better chance to raise finance, develop a business and bid to buy the asset on the open market.

The decision of whether an ACV nomination meets the statutory test set out in the Localism Act 2011 is a decision for the local authority and they must publish a list of their decisions. The Government does not hold a central list of this information or become involved in local decisions, as it is appropriate these issues are dealt with at a local level and local authorities are accountable to local people for the decisions they take.

Local groups can also apply to the £150 million Community Ownership Fund to protect treasured local assets which make the biggest difference to their community. We have already invested £103.2 million to support 333 projects across the UK.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to monitor the impact of asset sales by local councils on communities, and ensure that adequate protections are in place to safeguard valuable community cultural assets in the long term.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne

The department already has mechanisms in place to help with the safeguarding of local assets. A public or privately owned asset can be nominated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) if its principal use furthers the community’s social well-being. When a listed asset comes to be sold, a moratorium on the sale (of up to six months) may be invoked, providing local community groups with a better chance to raise finance, develop a business and bid to buy the asset on the open market.

The decision of whether an ACV nomination meets the statutory test set out in the Localism Act 2011 is a decision for the local authority and they must publish a list of their decisions. The Government does not hold a central list of this information or become involved in local decisions, as it is appropriate these issues are dealt with at a local level and local authorities are accountable to local people for the decisions they take.

Local groups can also apply to the £150 million Community Ownership Fund to protect treasured local assets which make the biggest difference to their community. We have already invested £103.2 million to support 333 projects across the UK.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a national register of community assets as a measure to safeguard against the inappropriate sale or disposal of such assets by local councils.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne

The department already has mechanisms in place to help with the safeguarding of local assets. A public or privately owned asset can be nominated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) if its principal use furthers the community’s social well-being. When a listed asset comes to be sold, a moratorium on the sale (of up to six months) may be invoked, providing local community groups with a better chance to raise finance, develop a business and bid to buy the asset on the open market.

The decision of whether an ACV nomination meets the statutory test set out in the Localism Act 2011 is a decision for the local authority and they must publish a list of their decisions. The Government does not hold a central list of this information or become involved in local decisions, as it is appropriate these issues are dealt with at a local level and local authorities are accountable to local people for the decisions they take.

Local groups can also apply to the £150 million Community Ownership Fund to protect treasured local assets which make the biggest difference to their community. We have already invested £103.2 million to support 333 projects across the UK.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Camrose on 12 April (HL3677), what practical steps data subjects can use to verify that their personal data are being processed (1) in accordance with any consent they have granted, and (2) only insofar as is "necessary" for the intended purposes; how they can exercise their right to object; and whether all of these processes will remain in place following the passage of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill as currently drafted.

Answered by Viscount Camrose

Data controllers should inform individuals of how they are going to use their personal data and set this out in their privacy notice. Individuals have a number of rights under the UK’s data protection framework, including the rights to access their personal data, to object to its processing and to rectification and erasure. If an individual is concerned about the handling of their personal data, they can contact the ICO for advice or to make a complaint.

These rights, along with core data protection principles, will continue to apply under the reforms within the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.