New research reveals that libraries that avoided closure after funding cuts have significantly reduced their public opening times

Library hours have been slashed across England since the introduction of austerity, new figures reveal.

Data gathered by the Labour party shows that over the past eight years 117 local authorities have jointly cut access to books and other public services by more than 230,000 hours. And more than half of the 2,208 libraries that submitted information admitted they had shut their doors for 21% of the time they were normally open in 2010.

The results of a survey that covers the great majority of the 150 councils that now run library services in England have been released this weekend ahead of national Libraries Week. The Labour party’s shadow culture team, who compiled the statistics, believe they will highlight the level of damage being inflicted on the library network.

“Every lost library hour is a lost opportunity for learning and this data reveals that Tory austerity is taking its toll on libraries up and down the country,” said Kevin Brennan MP, the shadow culture minister. “The decline in opening hours is a travesty this government should urgently remedy. Libraries Week is a time to appreciate all the things our public libraries do for us; providing welcome support to everyone, from toddlers to pensioners.”

Brennan went on to pledge that a future Labour government would put funding back into English local authority coffers and allow them to reinstate proper library standards.

“I am calling on this Tory government to stop its campaign of council funding cuts today and start standing up for our libraries,” he said.

The research, gathered with a freedom of information request sent out to all English local authorities, shows that each library has reduced its hours by an average of 107, or 6%, since 2010. Across the sample, total annual opening hours fell from 4,006,592 in 2010 to 3,769,747 in 2017.