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Written question asked by Bill O'Brien (Labour) on Monday, 24 January 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 1 February 2005. It was answered by Richard Caborn (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 February 2005 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Dept for Culture Media and Sport

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been made available to Wakefield Council for library services in each of the last five years.
Answer

Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been made available to Wakefield Council for library services in each of the last five years. [211225] Mr. Caborn: The Annual Public Library Statistics, published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy for the years 1999-2000 to 2002-03 (the latest available) show the overall expenditure by Wakefield libraries as follows: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. £ 1999-2000 3,309,655 2000-01 3,579,166 2001-02 3,684,526 2002-03 3,980,546 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. The expenditure will be underpinned by funding from a number of sources, national, local and self-generated. Non ring-fenced core funding for public libraries is paid to the 149 library authorities in England as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. DCMS does not hold a precise figure but I understand that Wakefield has added some uplift to the 2004-05 libraries budget and I commend them for that. I also understand that the Library Service itself has been energetic in forming partnerships and accessing external funding; this is also highly commendable. Wakefield's libraries, in common with those in the rest of the United Kingdom, are connected to the internet through a £120 million national lottery grant, which established the People's Network. Additionally, my Department is funding the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council £5 million over the three years ending 2005-06 to implement the Framework for the Future Action Plan and Library Improvement Programme which is designed to encourage improvement across the public library sector in England generally.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
211225; 430 c785W;430 c785-6W
Session
2004-05
Subjects
Finance Expenditure Internet Public libraries Wakefield
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk