Libraries

Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall Excerpts

Thursday 14th June 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Rawlings]

The Government are building on the future libraries programme and the libraries development initiative, which is run by Arts Council England and is designed to test new approaches to the library service. In February 2012, Arts Council England and the Local Government Association awarded £230,000 to fund 13 library projects across England. At the moment, these difficulties are being looked into further.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall]

May I tell the Minister—

[Noble Lords]

Oh!

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall]

I will come to my question but I wish to make the point that at 8 o’clock this morning I was reading How to Catch a Star with my two year-old grandson. Does the Minister agree that for children who do not have the good fortune to have a number of books in their house, libraries are very important and that the issue is not just that there are enough of them when you take the country as a whole but that there are enough of them locally for the people who are least able to access transport and who are most likely not to go if the difficulty of getting to the library increases?

[Baroness Rawlings]

Yes, libraries are vital for children, as is their school, which also has books. Transport to get to libraries or to any other public places where children learn is, of course, of paramount importance.