§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps are being taken to increase the number of libraries in the United Kingdom. [61903]
§ Dr. HowellsIt is for the 149 library authorities to make their own operational decisions about library provision within the requirements of the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act. The public library standards, including a target for the numbers of static libraries per household within an authority area, help define but do not increase those requirements.
In January 2002, my Department wrote to all English local authorities, notifying them of the arrangements for entering bids for the private finance initiative credits held by DCMS by 31 May. No library bids were received from Coventry.