Government commits to ensuring all primary schools have libraries by 2029
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to ensure all primary schools have libraries by the end of this parliament.
Penguin Random House held a reception at Number 11 Downing Street on Tuesday 8th July as part of the publisher’s 90th birthday celebrations, and to celebrate the Libraries for Primaries campaign in partnership with the National Literacy Trust.
The event was hosted by chancellor Rachel Reeves, who pledged during a speech to attendees that every primary school would have a library by the end of this political term, which ends in four years time in 2029.
The commitment follows years of campaigning by publishers and literacy organisations to ensure every primary school has a library. The Libraries for Primaries Campaign was first piloted in 2018 as a partnership between the National Literacy Trust (NLT) and Penguin PRH and was officially rolled out in 2021 to address the underfunding of the libraries school system.
Currently, one in seven state primary schools across the UK have no library space, which increases to one in four in more disadvantaged areas. While one in 20 primaries in south-east England do not have a library, that rises to one in five in north-east England. So far, the Libraries for Primaries campaign has put more than 1,500 libraries into schools around the UK.
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PRH UK CEO Tom Weldon told The Bookseller: “We were absolutely delighted to hear the chancellor commit to ensuring that every primary school in the UK has a library in the next four years.
“Together with the National Literacy Trust, this is something we’ve been working towards since 2018. During this time we’ve been into countless schools and seen first-hand the magic of a thriving library and its impact on pupils.
“It felt entirely befitting that the chancellor’s announcement came at a celebration of our founder Allen Lane’s ambition to increase access to books and reading. We keep that mission very much alive today, and Libraries for Primaries is the perfect demonstration of this 90 years on. It’s also an example of the power of what happens when the book industry comes together through a campaign like this, and marks a great launching point for the National Year of Reading in 2026.”
The Bookseller has approached the government for comment.
A national year of reading will take place in 2026 aimed at curtailing the reading crisis among children and young people. The initiative was launched by education secretary Bridget Phillipson.
