While the taskforce formally ended on 31 March 2020, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport provided a further year of funding for the team based at Arts Council England to manage the ongoing work funded through it, to convene a core group of library stakeholders, and to assist in the delivery of in upcoming strategic development opportunities. (Arts Council England is the national development agency for public libraries in England.)<\/p>
Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service and to think long-term and strategically as they plan and transform their library services. Libraries Deliver: Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016 to 2021<\/a>, together with other strategic planning toolkits<\/a> previously published by the taskforce, remain relevant guidance documents to assist local authorities in delivering this duty.<\/p> In September 2022, the Government appointed Baroness Sanderson of Welton as chairman of a new advisory panel to help develop a new strategy to make sure that public libraries are providing the best possible service for their communities. More detail can be found here<\/a>. To date she has had numerous meetings with organisations with an interest in public libraries work, and has led two roundtable sessions. The first, on 13 January in Nottinghamshire, focused on the contribution public libraries make to cultural and creative enrichment and the second, on 27 January in Suffolk, discussed their contribution to health and wellbeing. A further seven roundtables will be held between February and May, in libraries across England, each focusing on a specific theme, based on the seven Strategic Outcomes in Libraries Deliver: Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016 to 2021, plus sessions on governance and innovation.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4032", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Stuart Andrew"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Pudsey"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Stuart Andrew"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-02-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-02-03T14:00:24.083Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2023-01-30", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Public Libraries"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the closing of the Libraries Taskforce in March 2020 on strategic planning for libraries.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1588", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Keeley"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Worsley and Eccles South"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Barbara Keeley"}
], "uin" : "135181"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1581725", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1581725/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " This information is not collected by the Department. Arts Council England collects data from local authorities and publishes a basic dataset of information on public libraries in England. The libraries basic dataset 2021 shows the number of static libraries in England (statutory and non-statutory) as at 1 April 2010, 1 July 2016, 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2021. It can be found at: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/search?query=basic+dataset&sort_by=titles<\/a><\/p> The libraries basic dataset 2022 will be published by Arts Council England later this year.<\/p> Annual library data are also collected by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) from local authorities across Great Britain and include the number of libraries (statutory and non-statutory). Access to these annual library data is available through subscription to CIPFA. The House of Commons Library subscribes to the CIPFA \u2018stats+ public libraries statistics dashboard\u2019 which includes figures for library service points.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4032", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Stuart Andrew"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Pudsey"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Stuart Andrew"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-02-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-02-03T14:01:55.023Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2023-01-30", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Public Libraries"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many public libraries there were in England in each year since 2010.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1588", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Keeley"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Worsley and Eccles South"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Barbara Keeley"}
], "uin" : "135182"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1581015", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1581015/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport works closely with organisations across the sector to support and champion public libraries in England. Through the first round of the Libraries Improvement Fund, we are investing £5 million in 25 library services to upgrade their buildings and technology, equipping them to meet the changing needs of local communities. Decisions regarding the second round of the Fund \u2013 which will offer another £5 million of investment \u2013 will be made shortly.<\/p> Additionally, in September 2022 the Government appointed Baroness Sanderson of Welton as chairman of a new advisory panel to help develop a new strategy to make sure public libraries are providing the best possible service for their communities. More detail can be found here<\/a>. To date she has had numerous meetings with organisations with an interest in public libraries\u2019 work, and has led two roundtable sessions. The first on 13 January in Nottinghamshire focused on the contribution public libraries make to cultural and creative enrichment and the second on 27 January in Ipswich discussed their contribution to health and wellbeing. A further seven roundtables will be held between February and May, in libraries across England, each focusing on a specific theme, based on the seven Strategic Outcomes in the Libraries Deliver: Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016 to 2021<\/a>, plus sessions on governance and innovation.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4032", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Stuart Andrew"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Pudsey"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Stuart Andrew"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-01-30", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-01-30T14:01:02.53Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2023-01-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Public Libraries"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to help support public libraries.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4615", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lloyd Russell-Moyle"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Brighton, Kemptown"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lloyd Russell-Moyle"}
], "uin" : "903263"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1452883", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1452883/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "