Public and Educational Lending Rights (Better Income for Authors) Bill 2026; Third Reading

Summary

This legislation creates a new payment system where authors and creators receive money whenever their books are borrowed from public libraries or used in educational settings. Libraries and schools currently lend books without paying authors anything extra, so this establishes a fund to compensate creators each time their work is accessed this way — similar to systems that already exist in some European countries. The change aims to improve authors' income, particularly for those who rely on library lending rather than direct book sales, and recognizes that creators deserve payment when their intellectual work generates public value through institutional use.

What happens at this stage

The final vote in this chamber on the bill as a whole, after all amendments have been considered. If it passes, the bill moves to the other chamber to go through the same process. If both chambers have already agreed to identical text, the bill proceeds directly to Royal Assent.

Next: The other chamber, which runs the same process from First Reading, or Royal Assent if both chambers have already agreed