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Culture minister Margaret Hodge has defended her stance towards the public library service. In a letter sent to The Bookseller, she said it was "simply wrong to suggest there is ambiguity over the statutory basis of the public library".
She added: "It is timely to look at updating certain aspects of the Public Libraries legislation - for instance the inquiry process set out in the Public Libraries (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1992.
"What is as relevant today as it was in 1964 is the statutory basis of the library service. It is the statutory basis which has protected and sustained a library service that plays a vital role in our communities. I have no intention of changing it."
Doubts were raised over the question of whether libraries should remain a statutory local authority service, after question 20 of the Library Modernisation Review asked if it was important that libraries remain a statutory obligation. Two weeks ago her Tory shadow Ed Vaizey said it was "outrageous and offensive to everyone who ever cared about books and reading" to raise the question, leading to a row between the pair.
Hodge's letter to The Bookseller came in response to an earlier article covering a people's inquiry into public libraries held by public service union Unison at the British Library on 11th February.
At the inquiry, Hodge said a "very rigorous policy statement" would be issued on libraries "well before" the general election, widely expected to be held on 6th May. It is understood that the long-awaited Library Modernisation Review may be published as early as the second week of March.
On the statutory basis of libraries, she added: "We are considering whether the legislation is relevant, the way it is implemented is sufficient - it was a long, expensive process when the secretary of state intervened [in the Wirrall]."
It is "an issue we are going to look at in the report", she told the inquiry's attendees.