§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if the Department of Education has specified to the Belfast education and library board the sum to be allocated to the Belfast central reference library;
(2) whether special financial provision is made to the Belfast central reference library to take account of its responsibilities for providing reference facilities for the whole province;
(3) what steps he is taking to ensure that all the money allocated to the Belfast central reference library is spent on that particular library.
§ Mr. ScottWhile the Department of Education for Northern Ireland in determining the financial allocations for the education and library boards does take account of the reference facilities provided by the Belfast central library for Northern Ireland as a whole, it does not specifically earmark funds for this purpose within the resources made available for the Belfast board.
It is a matter for each board to determine its own priorities for the services for which it has a responsibility, including the library service, and allocate funds accordingly.