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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, with reference to the Carnegie UK Trust's report of March 2019, Engaging Libraries: Learning from Phase 1, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of that report.

The Government welcomed the recent Engaging Libraries programme, supported by Carnegie UK Trust and the Wellcome Trust, which enabled public library services to pilot creative public engagement projects on health and wellbeing. We also welcome the announcement that a second phase of the programme will be launched later in 2019.

In line with the learning in this report, the Government recognises the important roles that libraries can play in promoting health and wellbeing. In December 2016, the Libraries Taskforce (which was jointly established by DCMS and the Local Government Association) published its Libraries Deliver: Ambition document. This set out seven strategic Outcomes to which libraries contribute and that local and central government is seeking to support and encourage; one of these was helping people to have healthier and happier lives.

The Taskforce includes representatives of Public Health England and NHS England, and has been active in promoting and sharing good practice about a number of the Engaging Libraries projects through its blog on GOV.UK. In addition, the Taskforce has published an advocacy brochure to specifically showcase to library services, local councils, and partner organisations how libraries can support health and wellbeing for people and communities.