Consultation outcome

Government response to a consultation on the Public Lending Right Changes 2023

Updated 6 October 2023

1. Government response to a consultation on technical amendments to the Public Lending Right Scheme: 2023

1.1 Introduction

The consultation ran from 28 June to 6 August 2023. The consultation was sent directly to 152 local authorities in England, to Libraries NI (the Northern Ireland Library Authority), to the Scottish and Welsh Governments, who forwarded it to their local authorities on behalf of DCMS, and to the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department of Communities. It was also sent directly to 12 organisations representative of authors, public libraries and other key stakeholders relating to the public library sector in the UK. The consultation document was also made available to the public on the GOV.UK website.

1.2 Background

The Public Lending Right (PLR) is the right for authors and other eligible rights holders to receive payments from a central fund in respect of their books that are lent out to the public by local library authorities in the United Kingdom. The PLR applies to the lending of books, audiobooks, e-books and e-audiobooks from public libraries. The central fund is provided by Government, and the PLR Scheme is administered by the British Library Board.

The classes, descriptions and categories of books for which PLR subsists, and the rates of payments to be made in respect of it, are determined in accordance with the PLR Scheme made by the Secretary of State under the Public Lending Right Act 1979 (the PLR Act), which was brought into force by statutory instrument (the Public Lending Right Scheme 1982 (Commencement) Order 1982). The Secretary of State has a power to vary the Scheme and to bring such variations into force by statutory instrument.

The PLR Scheme has been managed by the British Library Board since 1 October 2013. It is grant funded for this function by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. PLR payments are made annually by the British Library to eligible authors who register their books with the British Library’s PLR Office. Authors resident in the UK or European Economic Area are eligible to apply for registration in respect of eligible works. A register of eligible authors and books is maintained by the PLR Office.

1.3 Collection and Calculation of Loans Data

The PLR Scheme currently specifies that the number of loans is to be ascertained by means of a sample and prescribes the designation and rotation of sampling points (i.e. the number of sampling points and how they are spread across the different regions, or “groups”, in the United Kingdom). During each sampling year at least seven out of the 30 operative sampling points are required to be replaced, and no operative sampling point is allowed to remain for a continuous period of more than 4 years unless it is in Northern Ireland.

The estimated total number of loans of a book (referred to in the Scheme as the number of “notional loans”) across the UK is determined by adding together the estimated number of loans of the book in each group. The estimated number of loans for each group is calculated by ‘grossing up’ the actual loans data obtained from the sampling points in that group, using the total number of loans of all books from all public libraries in that group in the financial year ending in the relevant Scheme year. This figure is currently obtained from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) who request library data, including the loan of books, from local authorities in Great Britain on an annual basis. Equivalent figures for Northern Ireland are provided directly from the Northern Ireland Library Authority.

There are increasing challenges in securing reliable and accurate annual national library loans data. The response rate from local authorities to CIPFA’s annual library questionnaire has fallen steadily over recent years. While the British Library previously used historical data to estimate the missing data, the extent of the fall in response rates has meant this is no longer viable. It has therefore become necessary for the British Library to move to requesting total loans figures directly from library authorities.

Should the current approach remain, the grossing up process carries a risk of becoming less representative to the extent that it is dependent on the accuracy of the national loans information from CIPFA’s annual public libraries statistics.

In addition, the British Library expects that it will become increasingly difficult to select operative sampling points to meet the legislative requirement for rotation, due to the increase in the number of consortia and the move towards national library management systems, as in the case of Wales. Also, different approaches to the collection of book loans data are currently used in different parts of the UK. Actual book loans data is collected for Northern Ireland, but only a sample of book loans is collected from local authorities for the rest of the UK.

By amending the Scheme to enable the British Library to have the option to move towards collecting actual book loans data from all local authorities in the UK, it will help to ensure that the calculation of PLR payments is based on consistent, comprehensive, accurate and timely book loans data. This change will provide access to more accurate national book loans data, enabling more accurate and representative calculations, more consistent earnings for local interest authors and more robust data with better insights for libraries and authors.

1.4 Posthumous registration

PLR in respect of a book by a deceased author (or other rights holder) may only be registered posthumously where the author had registered at least one book for PLR during their lifetime. Posthumous applications to register new titles can only be accepted if the book was published within one year before, or up to ten years after, the date of the author’s death. New editions of existing registered books can be added at any time during the life of PLR (up to seventy years after the author’s death).

In 2018 the Scheme was amended to remove an outdated and unnecessary certification requirement for authors when first registering for PLR, including in the case of posthumous registration.

This further proposed change will, in certain cases, remove the requirement for an application for registration of a posthumously eligible book to be made by the personal representatives of the deceased author. The exemption will apply where the following conditions are met: first, that the person making the application is already the registered owner of the PLR interest in one or more of the deceased author’s books; and second, when the PLR interest in respect of those books was transferred to the applicant, the deceased author’s personal representatives gave a declaration confirming that they were not aware of any other person who might be entitled to the PLR interest in respect of any posthumously eligible books of the author.

The changes will make it more straightforward and less costly for those people who have inherited rights from deceased authors to apply for registration and also remove unnecessarily burdensome administrative processes for the British Library.

Overall the changes will assist the British Library to administer the PLR Scheme in a more efficient and effective manner.

1.5 The consultation

DCMS ran a public consultation from 28 June to 6 August 2023 on proposals to amend the PLR Scheme. The consultation sought views on the following proposed amendments to help improve the administration of the PLR Scheme:

• amend the Scheme so that it is less prescriptive regarding designation of sampling points, enabling the British Library to increase the sample size with the option to move to collecting comprehensive loans data from all library authorities in the UK, and
• remove the requirement, in certain circumstances, for an application for registration of a posthumously eligible book to be made by the deceased author’s personal representatives. This means a person registering books for the first time after inheriting from a deceased author may not need to have a solicitor/executor involved in making the application, providing for a more efficient and less burdensome administration process.

The consultation was provided to all local authorities in the UK, 12 organisations representative of authors, public libraries and other key stakeholders relating to the public library sector in the UK and the Devolved Administrations. A copy of the consultation was also made available on GOV.UK.

The consultation consisted of four core questions. It sought views on the extent to which respondents agreed or disagreed with the two specific proposed changes. In addition, it sought views on any other proposals as to how accurate book lending data from UK public libraries could be obtained for the purpose of calculating the PLR payments due to authors and other contributors, as well as how the proposed change might affect the likelihood of individuals registering posthumously eligible books.

The consultation also sought input from respondents to help DCMS understand the impact of the proposed changes to the Public Lending Right Scheme.

A total of 106 online responses were started, of which 79 were fully submitted. However, not all respondents answered all the core and impact questions, and as such, the base level of responses to each question may vary. There were different impact questions based on the type of respondent and most of the questions were optional. The 106 online responses started were from 40 local authorities, 34 authors and 32 others. Incomplete responses have been included in this analysis, except for three incomplete responses which were removed as they were identified as duplicates. Overall, the vast majority of those that responded to the proposal to change the sampling requirements agreed with the change, while a significant majority that responded to the proposal related to the application for posthumous registration agreed with the change.

The government notes the positive support for the proposals, shown in the summary of responses below, and intends to proceed to introduce the necessary amendments to the PLR Scheme.

2. A summary of the responses to the core questions is as follows:

2.1 Core Questions

1. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this proposed change to PLR sampling requirements?

The vast majority of respondents (89%, sample size: 94) strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with this proposal. The main reasons given for their support was that it would provide more accurate data and robust calculations, a fairer approach and would benefit authors who might not be captured through the current methodology. Very few disagreed with the proposal. The most common reason given was that it would be burdensome for local authorities.

2. Do you have any other proposals as to how accurate book lending data from UK public libraries could be obtained for the purpose of calculating the PLR payments due to authors and other contributors?

Only around a fifth of respondents (21%, sample size: 92) had any other proposals. Of these, there were relatively few responses providing specific suggestions as to how accurate data could be obtained. A few comments focused on increasing the sample beyond public libraries, e.g. schools or volunteer-run libraries, while others mentioned automated data collection. One response mentioned a commercial print book sales tracking product as a potential source of methodology.

The issue of increasing the sample beyond public libraries is not within scope of this consultation. Under the Public Lending Right Act 1979, the PLR is applicable to loans made from public libraries falling under the statutory control of the relevant local authority. The government does not plan to extend the PLR Scheme beyond the loan of books from public libraries, to include schools or volunteer libraries which are outside of the statutory control of the local authority.

The collection and reporting of book loans data is an issue for each local authority, subject to the British Library Board’s approval where required under the Scheme. It is not for the government to instruct or direct local authorities to utilise a particular method or promote a preferred product.

3. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the proposal to remove the requirement, in certain circumstances, for an application for registration of a posthumously eligible book to be made by the author’s personal representatives?

A significant majority of the responses (69%, sample size: 90) strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with this proposal, with the main reasons being that it would make the application process easier and less complicated. In addition one respondent commented that it would make it less costly for applicants, while one other respondent strongly disagreed with the proposal commenting that it had the potential for fraud. The government does not consider that the change will materially increase the risk of fraud, as the change will only apply in cases where the British Library already has sufficient information to be satisfied that the applicant is entitled to the PLR interest in the posthumously eligible book.

4. How might the proposed change affect the likelihood of individuals registering posthumously eligible books?

Over half of responses (56%, sample size: 85) indicated that this change would mean that individuals would be more likely to register posthumously eligible books, given the introduction of a more straightforward process.

3. Conclusions of the Impact questions survey

In summary, the results suggest that there may be an increased cost, mainly in terms of staff time, for at least some organisations due to the proposed changes. However, the results also imply that the increased time commitment is not large, e.g. a few hours extra work per year.