The Government is disappointed to see that Meta is closing its Community News Project. We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry. Our new digital markets regime will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them \u2013 including press publishers.<\/p>
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/39", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Maldon"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Sir John Whittingdale"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-10-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-10-24T08:10:26.99Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "217"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-10-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Local Press"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support the capacity of local news media in the context of the withdrawal of funding for that sector by Facebook.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4124", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chi Onwurah"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Newcastle upon Tyne Central"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Chi Onwurah"} ], "uin" : "203487"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1664415", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Culture, Media and Sport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1664415/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional news outlets as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.<\/p>
To date the Government\u2019s support for the sector has included:<\/p>
Introducing legislation for a new, pro-competition regime for digital markets, which among many other things will help to rebalance the relationship between news publishers and dominant online platforms;<\/p><\/li>
The delivery of a £2 million pilot innovation fund - the Future News Fund;<\/p><\/li>
The zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers;<\/p><\/li>
The extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025;<\/p><\/li>
The publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>
The BBC is editorially and operationally independent of the Government, and decisions about how it delivers its services are ultimately a matter for the Corporation. However, the Government has been clear that the BBC must make sure it continues to provide distinctive and genuinely local content that reflects and represents people and communities from all corners of the UK. These services are a key part of the BBC\u2019s public service remit and an example of how the BBC can use its licence fee funding to provide content that is directly relevant to audiences, particularly in areas that may be underserved by the market.<\/p>
The Government expects Ofcom as the BBC\u2019s independent regulator to ensure the BBC is robustly held to account in delivering its public service duties.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/39", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Maldon"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Sir John Whittingdale"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-10-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-10-23T08:35:33.443Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "217"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-10-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Local Press"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide support to local press organisations affected by proposed reductions in BBC funding for local news and radio.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"} ], "uin" : "202268"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1660473", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Culture, Media and Sport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1660473/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The government is disappointed to see that Meta is closing its Community News Project. We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry, and our new digital markets regime will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them \u2013 including press publishers.<\/p>
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.<\/p>
Ministers and officials regularly meet with stakeholders, including from the local press and from among the tech platforms, to discuss relevant policy interests and concerns.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/39", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Maldon"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Sir John Whittingdale"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-09-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "199422"} , {"_value" : "199429"} , {"_value" : "199430"} , {"_value" : "199433"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-09-18T11:01:15.023Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "217"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-09-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Local Press"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to take steps to help support community journalism projects.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4651", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dan Carden"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Liverpool, Walton"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dan Carden"} ], "uin" : "199431"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }