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MORE than a decade of “brutal” SNP Scottish government cuts to councils has cost the country one in seven of its libraries, says Scottish Labour.
According to Labour Party analysis, the number of libraries in Scotland has fallen by 14 per cent from 627 to 538 between 2009-10 and 2022-23.
Three months on from setting its budget, the SNP Scottish government has so far refused to confirm funding for the Public Library Improvement Fund (PLIF) this year.
Scottish Labour’s Neil Bibby has voiced concerns that yet more libraries could be in jeopardy without the cash.
He said: “Years of brutal cuts to council budgets have devastated communities, causing the closure of one in seven libraries and threatening the future of many more.
“Libraries can help to tackle everything from digital exclusion to isolation to Scotland’s shameful attainment gap, but the damage done by the SNP has left Scotland’s libraries at breaking point.
“The SNP must give a cast-iron guarantee that it will not to inflict more cuts on these vital services by reducing the PLIF.”
The Scottish government was contacted for comment.
