John McDonnell

The National Year of Reading is a Department for Education initiative, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust.

Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive. Local Authorities participating in the programme will co-design the services in each hub alongside young people in the community to ensure it meets local needs.

Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape, and will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing.

Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work and boost engagement.

Local authorities such as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Hillingdon, Oxfordshire and Nottinghamshire are actively celebrating and participating in the National Year of Reading programmes with various activities and events at their library branches.

Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work and boost engagement.

Local authorities such as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Hillingdon, Oxfordshire and Nottinghamshire are actively celebrating and participating in the National Year of Reading programmes with various activities and events at their library branches.

As an arms-length body of the department, the British Library’s funding is considered in the round as part of Spending Review arrangements and departmental business planning.

The British Library is operationally independent of government and the day to day management of the Library - including staff pay - is a matter for organisation to determine. DCMS is aware negotiations are taking place on this dispute and hopes for a speedy response.

The Secretary of State has had constructive conversations with HM Treasury to secure grant-in-aid funding for our institutions.

These successful conversations were borne out in February 2025, when we announced a £270m Arts Everywhere Investment package that included a 5% increase to the budgets of all national museums and galleries to support their financial resilience.

And as per our most recent Spending Review settlement announced in June 2025, there is significant planned funding for the UK’s world-leading culture and heritage sector. We will be investing in celebrated institutions including national museums and galleries, as well as organisations like Arts Council England, which support local projects across the country and ensure that the best of British culture is accessible to all.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment.

It includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout the year. Reading together is one of the most powerful ways to build a child’s language and communication skills, strengthen early bonds, and spark a lifelong love of reading, which is why early years is one of the priority groups for the National Year of Reading.

We are raising awareness of the National Year of Reading through a range of methods, such as via departmental communication channels, the National Year of Reading mailing list and social media, communications from the National Literacy Trust, and promotion via the English Hubs network.

All interested parties are encouraged to sign up to the National Year of Reading website for more information: https://goallin.org.uk/.

To further support reading for pleasure, this government has committed over £10 million of dormant assets funding to guarantee a library for every primary school by the end of this parliament, and a further £5 million for secondary schools to purchase books to encourage reading enjoyment amongst their pupils.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. It is a department initiative, in collaboration with our delivery partner, the National Literacy Trust, who are leading the delivery of the campaign.

The National Year of Reading is operating as a collective impact campaign, allowing multiple partners from a range of sectors to participate, including schools, libraries, publishers, booksellers, media companies, retailers, and charities. It supports the Civil Society Covenant’s aims to build effective partnerships across the breadth of civil society and government, working together to tackle the deep-seated challenges of our time.

Tackling the long-term decline in reading for pleasure requires cross-sector support across the UK, as encompassed by the Go All In campaign which encourages everyone to get involved. The year includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings across the UK throughout the year.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign designed to tackle the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults, and to engage new audiences in reading. It aims to make lasting change to the nation’s reading habits and is for everyone, including adults, children, families and communities, reflecting that the decline in reading enjoyment affects all sectors of society. However, there will be a targeted focus on certain priority groups: boys aged 10 to16, parents from disadvantaged communities, and early years children.

‘Go All In’ is a fully inclusive campaign, encouraging people to read about whatever interests them, through any genre and all mediums of reading, from physical books, to comics, to e-readers. The campaign includes support from a diverse range of authors, celebrities and content creators representing a range of different ages, backgrounds and cultures from communities across the UK. The campaign will reach communities across the UK through schools, libraries, businesses and local partners. Libraries, as free to access community hubs, will play a central role in supporting participation and helping people of all ages and from all sectors of society to develop a lasting love of reading.

The National Year of Reading 2026 aims to make lasting change to the reading habits of the nation to address the decline in reading for pleasure, unlocking one of the most powerful tools for equity and opportunity, a love of reading that lasts a lifetime. The campaign aims for lasting impact by engaging new audiences, making reading relevant, transforming practice, and building infrastructure. For example, we are providing £5 million of funding for secondary schools to purchase books to encourage reading for pleasure.

The National Year of Reading is grounded in both existing evidence and new research, conducted by an external research agency. This is a critical component of the campaign, to ensure it is impactful and meaningful, both during the year and beyond.

There will be an independent external evaluation of the National Year of Reading, to be published in 2027. The evaluation will examine how the campaign influences reading behaviours, connects with audiences and shapes attitudes towards reading, particularly among the campaign’s priority audiences of teenage boys, early years children and families from disadvantaged communities. It will also assess the wider impact on the literacy sector and the foundations for long-term change.

The government provides funding through the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) on an annual basis to support teaching and students in higher education (HE). The department is prioritising support for high-cost subjects that are essential to the delivery of our industrial strategy and for access to HE for disadvantaged groups.

Funding for all subjects, including journalism, will benefit from the increase in tuition fee limits in line with inflation.

Journalism remains an important and valued subject, and the government acknowledges its importance, alongside numerous other subjects that do not attract SPG high-cost subject funding, such as history, languages, economics, mathematics and law.

Most purchases of equipment, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), are not paid for by individual employees. The Forestry Commission has existing PPE supply contracts that allow staff to order what they need, with costs invoiced directly to the organisation. New suppliers have been added to our systems where they have been identified. When bespoke or urgent PPE is required, nominated staff can still use a Government Procurement Card (GPC).

If an employee without a GPC pays for essential time-critical PPE themselves, reimbursement times vary across the Commission depending on local systems. However, any expense claim that meets policy requirements, has the correct approvals, and includes receipts is processed either twice weekly or three times per month, depending on the business area payment system. A cash advance option is also available for staff who need or prefer upfront support for work-related expenses. Additional contracts to cover other small-scale purchases are currently being developed.

The Cabinet Office required all Civil Service organisations to cancel or freeze all Government Procurement Cards (GPC) by 31 March 2025. In response, the Forestry Commission set up a review panel to assess which GPCs should be retained. A limited number of cards considered essential for operationally critical, health and safety, or legal compliance purposes were allowed to continue. All cardholders were notified of the decision regarding their GPC, and staff have been given guidance on alternative purchasing methods including using the travel management system, expense reimbursement, cash advances and other supplier contracts. This ensured that necessary operational activity could continue without disruption.

A response to the Public and Commercial Services Union was sent on 3 February 2025. I apologise for the delay in responding. Defra officials will discuss the implementation of the new framework with the relevant unions.

A response to the Public and Commercial Services Union was sent on 3 February 2025. I apologise for the delay in responding. Defra officials will discuss the implementation of the new framework with the relevant unions.

Navigation authorities are responsible for operational matters on their waterways, and that boaters using navigable waterways are required to comply with the terms of their licences for the benefit of all waterway users. The Canal and River Trust has provided assurances that appropriate enforcement action on its waterways is only used as a last resort in response to persistent non-compliance, to ensure fairness to all boaters. Those with children who choose to live on a boat without a permanent mooring are responsible for ensuring they have access to education; the Trust provides reasonable adjustments for anyone who qualifies under the Equalities & Human Rights Act.