SoA calls for UK government to ‘urgently review’ proposed cuts to PLR rate

In the UK, the Society of Authors (SoA) is calling on the government to ‘urgently review’ a proposed 55% cut to the Public Lending Right (PLR) rate, reports the Bookseller.

The Department for Culture, Media & Sports (DCMS) outlined the proposal to decrease the PLR rate from 30.53p (A$0.58) per loan to 13.69p per loan (A$0.26) for 2021/22 payments in a 23 October letter to the SoA. The proposal to decrease the rate follows a return to pre-pandemic levels of library usage since Covid-19 restrictions ended.

‘Book loans in the two preceding PLR Scheme years were affected by restrictions in place due to Covid-19, with library users having limited physical access to library buildings,’ the letter states. ‘With the restrictions no longer in place, the borrowing of books has been returning to near pre-covid levels and consequently led to a reduction in the annual rate per loan. This reduction is likely to have a minimal impact on the overall distribution of earnings, with payments between the different bands closely matching previous years.’

SoA CEO Nicola Solomon said the proposed PLR rate decrease is ‘very disappointing’ and urged the DCMS to urgently review the PLR fund. ‘PLR continues to be an important source of earnings for authors particularly those whose books are sold mainly to libraries and those whose books are no longer in print but are still being read,’ said Solomon. ‘The scheme ensures that funds reach a wide range of authors, beyond top sellers, which is very important if we want to encourage diversity in writing.’

In June, the DCMS moved towards collecting comprehensive loans data from all library authorities in the UK. It currently uses a data sample from 30 councils to calculate payments.

Category: International news