Libraries in the Wakefield district

That this House notes one of the key effects of a decade of austerity has been the loss of libraries as a community asset up and down the UK; notes that the first half of the austerity decade resulted in a 44% reduction in the number of libraries open in the Wakefield district; further notes that these community assets act as hubs of local information for residents young and old; believes the loss of these resources has exacerbated educational inequalities, an issue that has been exposed by the Covid-19 Pandemic; and calls on the Government to invest in community libraries with a properly funded post Covid-19 recovery plan.