MPs want babies in the UK auto-enrolled at libraries using new child ID
Key Points
- MPs want every baby in England issued a library card automatically at birth registration
- The scheme would use the government's new single child identifier
- Schools and libraries would share data to auto-enrol children onto reading schemes
- MPs want the ICO involved to keep the data-sharing within GDPR
- The committee also demands public library funding restored to 2010 levels
MPs want every baby in England automatically issued with a library card when their birth is registered.
The Education Committee made the recommendation in its Reading for Pleasure report, published on Friday (17 July), as part of a package of measures to reverse a 20-year low in children reading for pleasure.
Under the proposal, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport would work with local authorities to introduce an auto-enrolment scheme so that no parent has to sign their child up for library membership.
The committee heard throughout its inquiry that children from disadvantaged backgrounds miss out most on libraries, and that many families never make it through the door at all.
Automatic membership from birth would remove the first barrier entirely, and MPs want it backed by guidance for health visitors and introductory library sessions for new parents and carers.
The recommendation goes further than a card in the post.
MPs want the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to facilitate data-sharing between schools and public libraries, so that children can also be auto-enrolled onto schemes such as the Summer Reading Challenge.
A child ID
A key factor behind the plan is the government’s forthcoming single child identifier, a unique reference number designed to follow each child across public services.
The committee said auto-enrolment can make use of the identifier once it is established, linking birth registration, school records and library membership.
MPs said both departments should work closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office to give local authorities clear guidance on how to share children’s data within the confines of GDPR legislation.
The committee tied the proposal to a broader demand for library investment.
It called on the government to restore public library funding lost since 2010 by the end of this Parliament, establish a library sufficiency standard for local authorities, and fund a dedicated outreach officer for every library service at an estimated cost of £7.5 million.
The government must respond to the report within two months, and the auto-enrolment scheme depends on ministers accepting the recommendation and building the infrastructure to deliver it.
