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PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Public Libraries: Closures (4 February 2016)

Question Asked

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) rural and (b) urban public libraries have closed in (i) Wiltshire and (ii) England in each year since 2000.

Asked by:
Dr Andrew Murrison (Conservative)

Answer

The Department does not commission information relating to the closure of rural and urban libraries. Data relating to public libraries is collected and published annually by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. My Rt Hon Friend will note that the number of library service points in the Wilshire Library Authority has increased from 34 in 2000, to 36 in 2015. Meanwhile, in Labour-run Wales, the number of library service points in the same period dropped from 321 to 274.

31 March

Total service points open ten hours or more per week, including mobile libraries, in England

Total service points open ten hours or more per week, including mobile libraries, in Wiltshire Library Authority

2000

3,501

34

2001

3,497

34

2002

3,504

34

2003

3,510

35

2004

3,524

35

2005

3,474

35

2006

3,500

36

2007

3,494

36

2008

3,469

37

2009

3,451

37

2010

3,428

37

2011

3,393

37

2012

3,243

37

2013

3,181

36

2014

3,142

36

2015

3,076

36


Answered by:
Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative)
24 February 2016

Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.