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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of public libraries on adult education.

Public libraries are an important part of our local communities, providing people with knowledge to help with education, social skills, boosting employment and capturing the imagination of readers of all ages and backgrounds.

The DCMS Participation Survey 2023-24 found that 30% of adults had engaged with public libraries in England in the previous 12 months. This is a 6 percent point increase from the previous year.

Libraries are used as a venue for local authority adult learning provision funded through the Department for Education's Adult Skills Fund. Libraries enable providers to offer courses in local communities which are often targeted at learners with barriers to learning. The Department for Education does not collect data on the use of libraries or other venues for adult learning.