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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2017 to Question 64455, on public libraries: voluntary organisations, what support the Government is providing for library services and other public sector organisations to consider alternative funding and delivery models; and how that support can be accessed.

Firstly, we have put in place dedicated support for the creation of public service mutuals.

A new consortium of existing library service mutuals provides peer support for library authorities interested in exploring such models and is running two free Masterclasses in March 2017, in London and York, to share their experiences.

DCMS has also provided some funding to support a number of library authorities and other organisations interested in developing new delivery models.

The Libraries Taskforce’s document Libraries Deliver: Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016 to 2021 sets out practical options on alternative funding and delivery models for library authorities. The Libraries Taskforce will run free masterclasses for library authorities on income generation and alternative funding streams. It is also supporting community managed libraries by providing advice and guidance through its Community Libraries Toolkit, and supporting the development of a peer network for community managed libraries to share good practice and assist the development of sustainable community managed library business models. The Taskforce will also publish a Toolkit offering practical guidance for library authorities considering mutuals.