§ Mr. Cashasked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts what procedures the Office of Arts and Libraries operates to gather information of expenditure by local authorities on libraries.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe Office of Arts and Libraries does not itself collect information on expenditure by local authorities on libraries. The office has access to detailed information on various elements of local authority expenditure, including expenditure on libraries, which is collected by the Department of the Environment. In addition, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy publishes annual statistics relating to local library expenditure.
§ Mr. Cashasked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts which reports and other documents on libraries and information matters he expects the Office of Arts and Libraries to publish in the coming 12 months; and what major initiatives in that sector the Minister for the Arts expects to make in that period.
§ Mr. WaldegraveMy noble Friend expects that within this period his annual reports to Parliament on library and information matters and the public lending right scheme will be published by HMSO. In addition, he expects that the Office of Arts and Libraries will publish, on behalf of the Library and Information Services Council, reports on education and training for library and information work and on school libraries.
334WMy noble Friend does not at present expect to take any new major intitiatives within the next 12 months, unless they seem to be needed in the light of advice from the Library and Information Services Council or other sources. He expects to lay before Parliament proposals to amend the public lending right scheme once the necessary consultations have been completed.