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Piers
14. Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the total amount of lottery proceeds contributed to the maintenance and development of seaside piers. [4648]
Mr. Sproat: The national heritage memorial fund has awarded £475,042 to the Clevedon pier trust in Avon for the restoration and conservation of this listed pier.
17. Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans she has to celebrate the Year of the Pier in 1996. [4652]
Mr. Sproat: Piers at seaside resorts are an important part of Britain's built and cultural heritage. They are also a unique element of our distinctive national tourism product. I can assure my hon. Friend that I will seek opportunities to celebrate and publicise the Year of the Pier in 1996.
Sports Broadcasting
18. Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals she has to ensure that the broadcasting of major national sporting events remain on terrestrial channels. [4653]
Mr. Sproat: The Government have no plans to alter current arrangements. Listed sporting events cannot be shown on a pay-per-view basis, and sports rights holders are free to dispose of their rights to broadcast in the interest of their sport.
Listed Buildings
19. Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement on the listing of post-war commercial and industrial buildings. [4654]
Mr. Sproat: My right hon. Friend announced on 24 November that she had that day added 21 post-war buildings--comprising 13 commercial, three industrial and five railway buildings--to the statutory list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest. Details are in the Library. Her decisions were in respect of 40 recommendations she had received from English Heritage, and followed a consultation exercise in which owners and the general public were, for the first time, invited to give their comments on the proposed listings.
Concessionary Television Licences
22. Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations she has received concerning concessionary television licences for retired people; and if she will make a statement. [4657]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: The Government receive regular representations on the subject of concessionary television licences for retired people. However, the Government have no plans for any changes to the existing concessionary scheme, nor to introduce reduced fee television licences for all pensioners. Any increase in concessions available would reduce the BBC's income and impact upon its home broadcasting services.
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Children's Play Services
23. Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement on Government financial support for children's play services. [4658]
Mr. Sproat: On November 21, Official Report, column 67, my right hon. Friend announced that, subject to the successful completion of post tender negotiations, the National Playing Fields Association will carry out work in the areas of information dissemination, playwork education and training and play safety for the Department of National Heritage. Funding will be set at £400,000 per annum, which is broadly consistent with the Sports Council's spend on play since 1993.
Film Making
24. Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what measures her Department is taking to encourage film making in Britain. [4659]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: The British Film Industry is presently in a buoyant state and the Government will continue to provide significant public funds of over £23 million next year in support. That includes support for the British Film Institute, British Screen Finance, the European Co-Production Fund, the British Film Commission and the National Film and Television School. In addition, up to £100 million of lottery money is available to be spent on film production and other film projects over the next five years. I have also established a high level advisory committee, under the chairmanship of Sir Peter Middleton, to look at obstacles to the industry's growth.
Library Inspectorate
26. Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans she has to create a new library inspectorate. [4661]
Mr. Sproat: I have no plans to create a library inspectorate. However, I take my statutory responsibilities towards public libraries seriously, and will continue to monitor the quality of the service through the professional library advisers in my Department, and to draw on the expertise and experience of the Advisory Council on Libraries.
Public Lending Right Scheme
Mr. Mans: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when she will lay before Parliament her report on the operation of the public lending right scheme 1994-95; and what will be the rate per loan payable to authors under the scheme in February 1996 in respect of loans of their books to public libraries from July 1994 to June 1995. [7148]
Mr. Sproat: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has today laid before Parliament her report on the operation of the public lending right scheme in 1994-95. The Registrar of Public Lending Right has proposed to my right hon. Friend, on the basis of the size of the public lending right fund this year and information about loans of books by local library authorities, that the rate per loan for payments which will be made under the Scheme next
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February should remain at 2p. In the light of consultation with interested organisations, my right hon. Friend has agreed to the registrar's proposal.
Public Library Review
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement on the public library review following the publication of the ASLIB report and the subsequent consultation exercise. [7149]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: The provision of the public library service is a statutory responsibility of local authorities, in England and Wales under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964. The legislation provides a broad framework, requiring local authorities to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" library service but leaving the details of how the service is to be provided to local decision making; we do not intend to change these arrangements. My responsibility, under the same Act, is to superintend and promote the improvement of the service and to secure the proper discharge by local authorities of their functions in relation to libraries. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales has an equivalent responsibility in Wales.
Libraries are of great value in our national life. They introduce children to the world of books and reading, and foster their interest through adulthood. They offer lifelong support for learning and education. They are important sources of reference material and public information. They give individuals and businesses access to an information base of commercial and economic importance.
This is a time of major change for the direction and management of the public library service, especially given the continuing revolution in information technology. To address these new demands, the Government have launched a number of major initiatives in the library and information sector.
Potentially the most far-reaching of these is the public library review. This demonstrated the importance attached to libraries by the public and examined a number of fundamental issues:
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I am pleased to take this opportunity to announce a successor scheme to the public library development incentive scheme, to run from April 1996, which will match central Government funding to local resources. It will focus on practical proposals for library development in the context of the issues outlined above, and will give priority to projects with the widest potential application and relevance.
Like all public services, libraries must justify the level of financial support they receive and express clearly their role, in terms which can be easily understood. Under section 7 of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, a library authority has a duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service. In fulfilling this duty, a library authority is required to have regard to the desirability of a number of factors: encouraging people to make full use of the library service; providing advice on its use; and having facilities available for people to borrow or refer to books and other materials which are sufficient in number, range and quality to meet both the general and special requirements of adults and children. In Wales, public library services are provided in both English and Welsh as appropriate, having regard to the linguistic character of the area served. It is not the Government's intention to move away from this definition, but to illustrate it in support of our statutory role to "superintend and promote" public libraries in England and Wales.
The consultants' report on the public library review, the publication of which my predecessor announced in his answer of 16 May, Official Report, columns 150-51, covered a range of subjects in considerable detail. However, I believe that in dealing with the core functions of public libraries, it attempted to be all-inclusive and it confused the different functions and objectives of public libraries.
In the Government's view, the most important functions of the public library service are:
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My right hon. Friend and I should like to make it clear once again that the Government have no plans to privatise the public library service. However, as with all public services, the Government are concerned that it should be run as efficiently as possible. The public library service has already developed, and continues to develop, creative partnerships with the private sector, including the voluntary tendering of certain areas of support services. Following the publication of the consultant's report into contracting out, which I announced to Parliament on 19 July, Official Report, columns 1457-58, the Government are continuing to consider steps that might be taken to encourage more effective management of public libraries and to involve the private sector more in providing library services. There are a number of options, and I shall make a further statement to the House on these matters next year.
The responses to these issues, and others posed by documents such as report on library services for children and young people "Investing in Children", deserve serious and detailed consideration. My Advisory Council on Libraries and the Library and Information Commission, among others, will have an important contribution to make. The Library and Information Services Council (Wales) will similarly be providing advice to my right hon. Friend. I intend to report on the issues further in a policy paper to be published next year.
the nature of the public library service in England and Wales, and how it should respond to changing demands;
how each library authority can provide a clear specification of what it sets out to achieve;
how performance can be effectively monitored and the results published;
how to involve the private sector, to diversify sources of funding and to take maximum advantage for the community of the national resource which public libraries represent;
the use of information technology in public libraries; and
future arrangements for co-operation between library authorities, including the role of the regions in England.
(i) providing reading for pleasure
To carry out these functions, libraries must by statute provide books and other printed material, such as periodicals, as well as "other materials". Many libraries now provide a wide range of non-book materials such as cassette and video tapes, multi-media and open learning packages, talking books, compact discs, CD-ROMs and other new media. Libraries are also expected to provide suitable places and facilities, and assist users in directing them to the appropriate material. To encourage access and use by the widest range of the local population, public libraries frequently serve a variety of cultural needs and provide special materials such as large print books and sub-titled videos. They also provide services for the housebound, as well as providing disabled access to, and within, library buildings.
(ii) enlightening children and developing lifelong reading skills and habits in adults
(iii) encouraging lifelong learning and study
(iv) providing reference material including public information about local and national Government and EU publications, current affairs, and business information
(v) providing materials for the study of local history and the local environment
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