Guild campaigns against PLR funding cut

The Guild is campaigning against a decision by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to cut funding for Public Lending Right (PLR), the organisation that distributes the money paid to writers when books are borrowed from libraries.

As The Times reports, DCMS is to reduce funding to PLR from £7.68 million for 2007-08 to £7.4 million for 2008-09.

The Guild has written to the new Culture Secretary, Andy Burnham, asking for the decision to be reconsidered and hosted a meeting of the PLR Advisory Committee, which agreed to make efforts to get the cuts reversed.

Top writers including Guild President David Edgar, have written to The Guardian complaining about the proposed cuts:

Writers have long been grateful for Britain's excellent Public Lending Right (PLR) scheme, which pays 6p each time one of our books is borrowed from public libraries. Funded by the Department for Culture Media and Sport, the scheme is efficiently run. The payments are especially valuable to many writers whose books do not have large sales but are widely borrowed. The top limit of £6,600 per year ensures that the scheme favours writers on low incomes.

Recently the DCMS achieved a good three-year funding settlement. It was therefore a major blow to learn that it intends to cut the PLR allocation next year and that there will be no increase over three years. At the same time, the government has designated 2008 the National Year of Reading. We are not only extremely disappointed by the fall in PLR, we are also confused: does the government support writers or not?

The plan to reduce PLR, when the arts budget is rising, seems perverse and mean-spirited. We call on the new secretary of state, Andy Burnham, to reconsider it.

Tracy Chevalier Chair, Society of Authors David Edgar President Writers' Guild of Great Britain Antony Beevor, Margaret Drabble, Helen Dunmore, Philippa Gregory, AC Grayling, Peter James, David Lodge, David Nobbs, Harold Pinter, Philip Pullman, Andrew Roberts and Rose Tremain

Article published 08.02.08