§ 17. Mr. ClaphamTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to enhance Britain's library service. [77385]
§ Mr. Chris SmithWe are making available £70 million through the New Opportunities Fund to create content for the Public Libraries IT network and train library staff in ICT skills, and we have just announced a further £200 million, again through the New Opportunities Fund, to support the development of the network infrastructure. Libraries also potentially stand to benefit from a range of other educational programmes including the £470 million set aside for the development of learning centres under the Capital Modernisation Fund.