Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Walpole (Crossbench). It was answered on Thursday, 2 December 2010.

Public Libraries: Funding

Question: My Lords, I remind the Minister of the importance of mobile libraries in the countryside, where they are absolutely essential. Does she agree that one way of economising would be to have them call less often—not removing them, as appears to be the problem at the moment?

Answer: The noble Lord, Lord Walpole, is right about the mobile services. It is an issue which is very much in the Government’s mind. There are more than 2 million talking books in stock as well as collections of large-print material, which are also used for the blind. Libraries also provide a valuable home service to those who are not mobile enough to travel to library buildings. In 2009-10, nearly 88,000 housebound readers benefited from this service. The Government are very much aware of this issue but, in the end, it will be a local decision.

Secondary information