Petition · past parliament · Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Provide ringfenced funding for local libraries

Closed 598 signatures

What the petition asks

Libraries across the country are being closed, cut back and/or outsourced to volunteers as a result of government cuts to local authority budgets. Many councils are struggling to keep staffed library services open when faced with the competing demands of social care, child protection etc.
Libraries offer a place for education and opportunity – our libraries are a gateway for many people to access a blue badge, a bus pass, friendships as well as a vital resource for the promotion of reading.

They are a important for the digitally excluded who need to go online to access benefits, health, education and employment resources.

The Government must ringfence funding to ensure councils can fulfil their statutory duty to keep libraries services available to the general public. The Government must ringfence funding to ensure councils can fulfil their statutory duty to keep libraries services available to the general public.

Timeline

26 Jun 2023 Petition opened for signatures
26 Dec 2023 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 598
Status Closed
Department Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Opened 26 Jun 2023
Closed 26 Dec 2023

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.