PLR move formally agreed

The amendment to move Public Lending Right under the jurisdiction of another public body has been agreed, meaning it will no longer "exist as a separate legal entity."

The an extract from the Public Bill Committee noted:
"The Government recognise the importance to authors of the public lending right. Authors’ right to receive payment when their books are borrowed from public libraries is protected in law. That right will continue even if the statutory function of distributing the PLR fund to authors is transferred from the current PLR public body to another existing body, effectively abolishing PLR as a separate organisation."
 
The body that will take over PLR is still to be announced, and according to the committee is still subject to ongoing discussions: "...it is our intention that PLR payments will still be administered by a body operating at arm’s length from Government and with the same independence and impartiality currently awarded to the PLR registrar."

The amendment to PLR will also have a cap placed on the costs incurred to the administration of the scheme in what the committee says affords "a degree of protection to the funds available for making payments to authors."

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