How the lifelong learning initiative announced by the new opportunities fund will benefit local libraries. [83418]

The £200 million new opportunities fund stream for community access to lifelong learning will make a substantial contribution to developing the infrastructure for a public libraries information technology network, linking local libraries to each other and to the national grid for learning by 2002.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that, as well as providing a vital educational resource, local libraries provide local communities with a key civic amenity, and a focus for civic engagement and local civic pride? Will he join me in calling on local authorities across Britain£including my local authority, Merton, which is considering the closure of Wimbledon Park library£to take full account both of the educational resource provided by local libraries and their civic importance when undertaking their local library reviews?

I have made precisely that point to library authorities and library professionals on a number of occasions. I would add that the development of information technology resources in public libraries is a vital way of ensuring that we do not develop an underclass of people who have no access to information technology, and to the wealth of new information and resources of knowledge that it makes available. We are determined to ensure, by means of the money that we are putting in, that that does not happen.