Today, at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that every state primary school in England will have a library by the end of this Parliament (2029).

This is a significant milestone for the Libraries for Primaries campaign, which has brought together authors, illustrators, publishers, libraries, businesses and the third sector to address the lack of investment in UK primary school libraries.

Reeves said: “When I was at school, they turned our library into a classroom because there were more students than there was space, and I saw first-hand the negative impact that had. Now we are ensuring every primary school has a library, giving kids the chance to learn, grow, explore their interests and find quiet space to study.

“Through our Plan for Change it is our mission to give every child the best start in life, regardless of their background or where they’re from. This announcement is a key milestone in achieving that.”

The Crisis in Reading for Pleasure

Against the context of the 2025 Literacy Report from the National Literacy Trust, revealing a generation disengaging from books - it's huge news.

Reading for pleasure among children and young people in the UK has dropped to its lowest level since records began, according to the National Literacy Trust’s 2025 report. 

  • Only 1 in 3 (32.7%) children aged 8 to 18 say they enjoy reading “very much” or “quite a lot” — a 36% drop since 2005.
  • Enjoyment has fallen across all age groups, with a particularly sharp decline among primary-aged children and teenage boys.
  • Daily reading is also at a record low: just 18.7% of children aged 8 to 18 read something every day in their free time — down 51% from 2005.
  • For 5- to 8-year-olds, 62.6% say they enjoy reading, and 44.5% read daily — still higher than older peers, but also in decline.

We know that school libraries and reading for pleasure can transform lives, supporting children’s reading skills, wellbeing, empathy and academic attainment. Yet, 1 in 7 primary schools in the UK still lack a library — rising to 1 in 4 in disadvantaged communities. This new government commitment brings us one giant step closer to a significant step: ensuring every UK primary school has a designated library space by 2029.

What is the Libraries for Primaries Campaign?

Founded in November 2021 by the National Literacy Trust and Penguin Books, the Libraries for Primaries campaign (formerly the Primary School Library Alliance) is a group of organisations who work to address the lack of investment in primary school libraries.

So far, they have transformed over 1,500 school libraries and trained over 2,000 teachers and support staff.  

The next phase of the campaign was to ensure that every primary school in the UK has a library or dedicated library space.

Their partners include Arts Council England, Bloomberg, Foyle Foundation, Oxford University Press, The Portal Trust, The Unwin Foundation, The Julia Rausing Trust, and (at the time of writing) 30 supporting organisations - including LoveReading4Kids.

Today’s announcement supercharges that mission and helps place reading for pleasure at the heart of our national culture, ahead of the National Year of Reading in 2026.

Bravo to the Libraries for Primaries campaign.

For more information, visit: https://www.librariesforprimaries.org.uk/