Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of schools in England have libraries.

Findings from the PISA survey (OECD, 2010) indicated that in 2009 96% of pupils in the United Kingdom were attending a school where there was a library.

In line with our approach to giving schools in England greater freedom we believe that it should be for headteachers to decide whether and how to provide a library service for their pupils. We do not, therefore, issue guidance to schools relating to the provision of school libraries. Many headteachers recognise the role libraries play in improving young people's literacy and love of reading, and ensure that suitable library facilities are provided.

Our new English curriculum makes clear the importance of reading widely and often. The Department for Education supports Booktrust, which runs the Read for My School competition which offers pupils access to a free online library of books, and The Reading Agency, which runs the Summer Reading Challenge, an annual event developed to stop children's reading levels dipping during the long holidays by providing book themed events in local libraries.

The Department has not commissioned research on the link between access to books and literacy, but know from earlier reports (Clark, C, Woodley, J and Lewis, F. [2011]. The Gift of Reading in 2011: Children and young people's access to books and attitudes towards reading. London: National Literacy Trust.) and (PIRLS [2012] PIRLS 2011 International Results in Reading, TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Centre: Boston) that there is a positive relationship between the number of books in the home and attainment.