§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the frequency of visits by members to libraries per annum in each of the past 10 years; and if she will make a statement. [35248]
§ Dr. HowellsThere has been no such formal assessment. However, with effect from 2001–02, library authorities will report, in their annual library plan, on their current position against the public library standards, which includes a target for visitor numbers. This will allow all library authorities to be assessed against the best performing ones.
§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list by local authority(a) the number of members of library services and (b) the proportion of the authority's population who are members of its libraries; and if she will make a statement. [35247]
§ Dr. HowellsThis information is not collected centrally. In 1999–2000, there were nearly 13.8 million active borrowers in England, i.e. 27.7 per cent. of the population. An active borrower is a person who has borrowed at least one item from the library during the year.