Public Library Service (Hansard, 13 June 1988)

§ 53. Miss Lestor
To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received on his Green Paper "Financing our Public Library Service."

§ 55. Mr. Wareing
To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received from public librarians on his Green Paper "Financing our Public Library Service."

§ 66. Ms. Abbott
To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received from local authorities on his Green Paper "Financing our Public Library Service".

§ Mr. Luce
I have received about 200 letters, including a large proportion from public libraries commenting on the Green Paper and I expect to receive many more by 30 June, the closing date for representations.

§ 57. Ms. Mowlam
To ask the Minister for the Arts how many complaints he has received in the last 12 months from library users that public libraries are not sufficiently client-orientated.

§ Mr. Luce
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ashfield (Mr. Haynes) on Tuesday 7 June, at columns512–13.

§ 59. Dr. Marek
To ask the Minister for the Arts what external economic expertise was available to him in the preparation of the Green Paper on the financing of public libraries.

§ Mr. Luce
The financial and statistical data contained in the library Green Paper were obtained from sources published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. The economic expertise available within Government was adequate for my purposes in relation to the Green Paper.

§ 67. Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Minister for the Arts what evidence he has on the extent of demand for competitive tendering for renting videos in public libraries.

§ Mr. Luce
Competitive tendering is, I suggest in my library Green Paper, one way of enabling library authorities to use their resources more effectively. No library authority in England has, I understand, put out to competitive tendering any direct service to its library users. I wish them to consider doing so.

§ 69. Mr. Tony Banks
To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he has met the Library Association to discuss the Green Paper "Financing our Public Library Service".

§ Mr. Luce
Yes. I met a delegation from the Library Association on 25 May and had a useful discussion with the association about the Green Paper.

§ 70. Mr. Battle
To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he consulted with the Library Association on the contents of his Green Paper on financing the public library service prior to publication.

§ Mr. Luce
No, but I met a delegation from the Library Association on 25 May to discuss, among other matters, my Green Paper on financing the public library service. The association intends, I understand, to make a substantive submission to me shortly on the Green Paper.