Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support is available to local authorities to maintain public library services.

Each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within their available resources.

Core funding for libraries is through the Local Government Finance Settlement. In 2026-27 the government will make available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26.

In January 2026 the DCMS Secretary of State announced continued investment in the Libraries Improvement Fund, meaning £27.5 million over the period 2025-30. This will enable library services across England to invest in a range of projects to upgrade buildings and technology.

DCMS also supports library services with discussions on proposed changes to their statutory library service and best practice from other library services who have undertaken similar changes.