Education secretary Michael Gove has partly reversed the Government's decision to axe the 13m grant for programmes which provide free books for babies and children, after the move was slammed by writers including the poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and children's author Philip Pullman.
Following meetings between Booktrust and Mr Gove, a joint statement was released by the charity and the Department for Education on Boxing Day, just a week after the charity was told that it would lose 100 per cent of its funding.
The statement said that while the current free book schemes would end in April as planned, the department was in discussions with Booktrust about developing a new scheme.
It said, ‘The Department for Education and Booktrust are determined to ensure that reading for pleasure is a gift every child can enjoy. That is why the DfE will continue to fund Booktrust book-gifting programmes in the future. Although the current contract will end in April, the Department are talking to Booktrust about how to develop a new programme which will ensure that every child can enjoy the gift of books at crucial moments in their lives while ensuring we develop an even more effective way of supporting the most disadvantaged families to read together. The Department and Booktrust will be working together, with publishers, in order to ensure that we can make every possible saving in developing an enhanced programme.’
The Government had faced widespread criticism from authors over its decision to cut the entire grant for the books-for- babies Bookstart scheme, and its other free book programmes for children.
Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy said, ‘Support for Bookstart is support for the dreams and imaginations and future of British children. To withdraw that support is to behave like Scrooge at his worst. Here’s hoping the powers-that-be see the light in time, as he did.’
The statement said that while the current free book schemes would end in April as planned, the department was in discussions with Booktrust about developing a new scheme.
It said, ‘The Department for Education and Booktrust are determined to ensure that reading for pleasure is a gift every child can enjoy. That is why the DfE will continue to fund Booktrust book-gifting programmes in the future. Although the current contract will end in April, the Department are talking to Booktrust about how to develop a new programme which will ensure that every child can enjoy the gift of books at crucial moments in their lives while ensuring we develop an even more effective way of supporting the most disadvantaged families to read together. The Department and Booktrust will be working together, with publishers, in order to ensure that we can make every possible saving in developing an enhanced programme.’
The Government had faced widespread criticism from authors over its decision to cut the entire grant for the books-for- babies Bookstart scheme, and its other free book programmes for children.
Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy said, ‘Support for Bookstart is support for the dreams and imaginations and future of British children. To withdraw that support is to behave like Scrooge at his worst. Here’s hoping the powers-that-be see the light in time, as he did.’