Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made on the potential impact of 31% of libraries now using unstaffed hours on early literacy rates and access to libraries for children.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources, including the opening hours, staffed and unstaffed, of its libraries. This includes ensuring children and young people have access to their services.

As the libraries development agency for England, Arts Council England collects and publishes data on library opening hours in its annual English Public Libraries Location Dataset.

The ACE English Public Libraries Location Dataset 2024 indicates that 408 statutory static libraries have an automated system to support the public when this facility is open but unstaffed.

DCMS recognises the vital role libraries play in supporting children and young people in their literacy and providing a safe place to study. DCMS’s 2024-25 Participation Survey shows that 16-19 year olds are more likely to use library services than the average adult. DCMS’s Youth Participation Pilot Survey, published in 2024, also shows that 43% of young people (10-19) visited a library in the 12 months prior. DCMS will be considering a range of evidence and best practice in development of the forthcoming Libraries Strategy.