The UK government has allocated £15 million in funding to support children’s literacy charities as part of efforts to address declining reading levels among young people. Chancellor John Healey announced the funding in the recent budget, specifically targeting organizations that provide books to children, including Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and BookTrust.

Since its launch in 2007, the Imagination Library has distributed more than six million books to children across the United Kingdom, offering a book every month from birth until the age of five. Healey emphasized the importance of this support for families facing financial difficulties, saying that ensuring children have access to books can help alleviate the feeling of missing out on important developmental opportunities.

The announcement coincides with the ongoing Sunday Times Get Britain Reading campaign, which aims to encourage reading for pleasure among children and adults. The campaign has garnered substantial community involvement, including a fundraising effort that raised £115,000 for Bookbanks, a charity that provides free books to users of food banks. This support has enabled Bookbanks to expand from six to ten branches over the past year, with further growth anticipated. In addition, more than 570 individuals have signed up to volunteer as readers in schools through the Coram Beanstalk program.

Representatives from the Imagination Library welcomed the government’s commitment, noting that the campaign and the upcoming National Year of Reading in 2026 have highlighted the significance of fostering a love of books among children. The initiative supports the vision of Dolly Parton, who passed away in August at age 80. Parton had publicly supported the Get Britain Reading campaign alongside figures such as Salman Rushdie and Mick Jagger, expressing her hope that access to books could instill a lifelong passion for reading.

Parton had often spoken about the personal importance of reading, citing the Bible as a book she frequently returned to throughout her life. Her foundation’s involvement in literacy programs has been a key component in encouraging early childhood reading.

This funding follows a previous government commitment in last year’s budget, when former Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged an additional £5 million to provide books in secondary schools. This earlier measure underscored the broader recognition within government of the critical role that book access plays in educational outcomes, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.