§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Minister for the Arts, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Woolwich on 24 February, Official Report, column 413, what would be the cost of sending a letter to each of the library authorities in England requiring them under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 to provide information as to the imposition of a ban on News International newspapers in their public libraries.
§ Mr. LuceIt appears that only a small minority of library authorities are applying a ban. To circulate all authorities would be a disproportionate response at this stage. I hope that the authorities concerned will take account of the views which both the Government and the Library Association have expressed, and end the ban quickly.