Labour has pledged to ensure every primary school in England has its own library, through a £132.5m scheme unveiled by Rachel Reeves today.
The chancellor is due to set out the plan in a speech at the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool today.
According to the National Literacy Trust, one in seven primary schools in the UK do not have a library.
The £132.5m government scheme will create new libraries in 1,700 primary schools, according to the Guardian.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said some schools “may face challenges in terms of space and staffing”, but said he hopes they will be able “to use this funding to help with that”.
The sum was allocated from “dormant assets” identified by Reeves in the government’s June spending review.
It is not clear whether the funding is only for creating and stocking libraries, or whether it includes some money for schools to staff the new facilities.
Labour said more details would be given in Reeves’s speech.
Writing on X this morning, Reeves said: “Today I am promising a library in every single primary school in England by the end of this parliament.”
She hailed the project “a statement of the value this Labour government places on all our children’s futures”.
Schools need more funding, warns union
National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede welcomed the news, saying schools had been forced to close library amid funding shortages. This “deprives children of an essential part of their education”.
But he said the pledge “must be a first step in addressing the chronic funding shortfalls that mean schools lack the resources to provide engaging and successful learning in all subjects”.
He called on Reeves to “address the funding shortfall for schools and colleges” when she delivers the autumn budget in November.
Rachel Harrison, national secretary of GMB union, said: “Every child deserves access to the best books. And every school support worker wants to help open children’s imaginations to the worlds inside books – and get them engaged in learning.
“I know our tens of thousands school support staff members will be thrilled by the chancellor’s announcement. And what it means to invest in all our schools and children across the country.”
