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1285067

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Local Press: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the effect of reduced advertising revenues during the covid-19 outbreak on local newspapers.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	151804
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises the vital role of local newspapers in supporting communities and local democracy through their provision of reliable, high-quality information. The government has been engaging closely with the sector, including publishers present in Slough, and with market experts to continue to inform our understanding of the financial pressures the industry has been facing, including with respect to the reduction in advertising revenues, and the impact of this on business continuity. Many local newspapers have been able to benefit from a unique and unprecedented government advertising partnership, designed to deliver important messages to UK citizens. Newspapers received up to £35 million additional government advertising revenue as part of the first phase of our coronavirus communications campaign. The campaign has subsequently been extended with at least 60% funding going to smaller regional and local titles.</p><p>We are aware that the pandemic has had a significant effect on many local newspapers and, in some cases, has led publishers to make difficult decisions with regard to title closures or suspensions and staff redundancies. We will maintain our dialogue with the sector as the situation continues to develop, ensuring that we have the information needed to inform the development of effective support measures.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 17/02/2021 17:52:30 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1285068

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Press: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to introduce sector-specific financial support for (a) public interest journalism and (b) local newspapers affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	151805
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>The government recognises the vital role of newspapers in supporting communities and democracy at a local and national level through ensuring the provision of reliable, high-quality information.</p><p>We understand the acute financial pressures newspapers have been facing due to steep drops in advertising revenues and the particular implications of lockdowns on print circulation. To support news publishers to date, the government has introduced a series measures including the extension of business rates relief for local newspapers in England for an additional five years; and the zero-rating of VAT on e-newspapers, which was brought forward to May 2020 in response to the effects of the pandemic. The introduction of further Covid-19-related financial support is the responsibility of the Treasury.</p><p>Many newspapers have benefitted from a unique and unprecedented government advertising partnership, designed to deliver important messages to UK citizens. Newspapers received up to £35 million additional government advertising revenue as part of the first phase of our coronavirus communications campaign. The campaign has since been extended, with at least 60% funding going to smaller regional and local titles. Some publishers have also made use of wider government measures as well, such as the job-retention scheme which we have extended until the end of April 2021.</p><p>Longer term, we will continue to consider all possible options in the interests of promoting and sustaining high-quality news journalism, including pursuing options for financial support such as funding for innovation in the sector and tax reliefs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 17/02/2021 12:09:58 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1285071

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Local Press: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment has he made of the effect of (a) suspension and (b) permanent closure of local newspapers during the covid-19 outbreak on local democracy.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	151808
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises the vital role of local newspapers in supporting communities and local democracy through their provision of reliable, high-quality information. On 6 October last year, the government published Research into Recent Dynamics of the Press Sector in the UK and Globally, a report on the importance of newspaper provision to local communities which explored the impact of suspensions and closures on local democracy. The research, which was conducted before the onset of Covid-19, found that changes in news provision and consumption over time had a direct impact on participation levels in local elections in England, underlining the vital importance of a sustainable local news industry to a properly functioning democracy.</p><p>Throughout the pandemic, I have kept in close contact with stakeholders from across the sector to understand the financial pressures they have been facing and how these are impacting business continuity. We do not hold comprehensive figures on the number of titles suspended or closed but are continuing to develop our understanding of the impact of Covid-19-related title closures and suspensions on local news provision and democratic engagement in the light of the findings of our research.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 17/02/2021 17:48:08 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi