Secretary of State Education
Rt Hon Bridget Phillipsons M.P.
From a Birmingham citizen and library user
Dear Secretary of State,
First of all, let me congratulate you on taking up your post of Minister of Education in May, a hugely important position in the governance of the country.
I would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the perilous situation of community libraries in Birmingham and the consequent threat to the education of our children, young people and lifelong learning. This vital educational service faces a 40 percent reduction in opening hours, loss of space for library activities, and an end to qualified paid staff, as a result of a drastic proposed reduction in its budget which will do lasting damage.
I know from parents of young pre-school children in my street that the local library is a vital part of their weekly activities with a designated children’s area, a wide range of books, and creative activities, all of which are free and provided by dedicated and qualified staff. For pre-school children in particular, libraries have a vital role in promoting reading, a love of books and reducing screen addiction, now recognised as a major issue. Primary schools in Birmingham are major users of their community libraries; parents, teachers, head teachers and governors have been horrified at the council’s attack on the service, with classes of children attending full council meetings to ask questions over this issue and receiving little comfort from the answers. Council officers have insisted in some libraries on taking down simple celebratory posters by children about their library, a shocking attack on free speech which has been a hallmark of senior Birmingham City Council officers’ reaction to any form of protest over this attack on our library service, a public service provided in a public space that belongs to us. My own grandchild recently went on a visit with her school to her local library and was greatly enthused, I have since taken her to join, and she left the library delighted with her two books. The question I have been asking myself since that visit is: will she have a recognisable library service in the future?
For secondary pupils and students, libraries provide free Wi-Fi, quiet study places and homework clubs. They are a vital free and safe place to study after school and at weekends, particularly for those young people living in overcrowded homes or other difficult circumstances. The proposed massive reduction in opening hours, including in some cases Saturday closures, poses a real threat to these young people’s achievement at GCSE and A level examinations.
I ask, on my own behalf as well as on behalf of the wider Birmingham Loves Libraries campaign, that you take up these issues with the leader of BCC, Councillor John Cotton, Cabinet Member responsible for libraries, Councillor Saima Suleman, and Lead Commissioner Max Caller as a matter of urgency to draw attention to the damage that the current proposals will do to children and young people’s education in Birmingham.
I would also request that the issues raised are discussed with relevant Cabinet members:
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Right Honourable Angela Rayner MP.
Secretary of state for DCMS Right Honourable Lisa Nandy MP.
Sir Chris Bryant MP who holds the Library portfolio.
We believe that despite modifications the current proposals mean that BCC is failing to meet its statutory duty in respect of the Libraries Act of 1964. We need more libraries, open for longer hours at times convenient to the public with qualified and paid staff that will support our children and young people in their educational attainment.
Yours Sincerely
Jim Wells
Erdington
Comments