Public Libraries: Closures
(asked on 25th January 2023) - View Source
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many public libraries have closed in England since (a) 2000 and (b) 2010.
Answered by
Stuart Andrew
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This information is not held by the Department. Arts Council England collects data from local authorities and publishes a basic dataset of information on public libraries in England. The libraries basic dataset 2021 shows the number of static libraries in England (statutory and non-statutory) from April 2010 to 31 December 2021 and also includes information on permanent library closures. It can be found at https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/search?query=basic+dataset&sort_by=titles
Based on this dataset, DCMS estimates that around 230 libraries have permanently closed in the period 1 April 2010 to 31 December 2021 and not been relocated or replaced.
The libraries basic dataset 2022 will be published by Arts Council England later this year.