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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many new public libraries have opened since 2010.

This information is not collected by the department. However, Arts Council England collects data from local authorities and publishes a basic dataset of information on public libraries in England. The libraries basic dataset 2022 shows the number of static libraries in England (statutory and non-statutory) as at 1 April 2010, 1 July 2016, 31 December 2019, 31 December 2021 and 31 December 2022. It can be found here.

This dataset indicates that there are around 150 static public libraries which were not part of statutory provision in 2010 but were at 31 December 2022.