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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many public libraries were open in England in each year since 2010.

I am responding as Minister with responsibility for Libraries policy.

Data relating to public libraries is collected and published annually in December by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. The following table indicates the number of library service points within the statutory public library services of local authorities that are open ten or more hours per week, as at 31 March for each year.

The Libraries Taskforce recently commissioned from local authorities in England basic data regarding the numbers and types of public libraries available within each local authority. The data will assist the library sector and users to monitor the delivery of library services.