Authors: Rights and Income

Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville Excerpts

Tuesday 14th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

My Lords, the noble Lord is right that libraries have declined in number, but the new modern libraries are amazing. We still have 3,142, which is an impressive network. I was in one of the modern libraries at Canada Water only last week. The Government are committed to looking at the options to extend PLR to remote e-learning. That was one of our manifesto commitments and I am sure we will be debating some of the related points that he has made in the coming weeks and months.

[Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville (Con)]

My Lords, in the light of what has transpired in these exchanges in relation to the public lending right, would my noble friend consider encouraging a prize for the public library responsible for raising the most public lending right in the course of a year?

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

My Lords, I like it when this noble House gives us innovative ideas, and I shall take that back to the Culture Minister, who I am sure will be very interested in the idea.