Select committee: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 3
Seventh Report - Sustainability of local journalism
Published 25 Jan 2023
Paragraph 44
Addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Sustainability of local journalism All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government’s response to the Cairncross Review recommendation to set up an innovation fund for public interest news was welcome. But the Future News Pilot Fund was neither substantial nor long-term enough to make a significant difference, and there has been no follow up. The Government should build upon the Future News Pilot Fund and create a long-term public interest news fund with a remit to support innovation.
From: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Seventh Report - Sustainability of local journalism (HC 153), paragraph 44, 25 January 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 17 May 2023 (deadline 9 May 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's report and agrees with its overall assessment of journalism's role and the sector's financial challenges, while setting out varied positions on individual recommendations.
- On a long-term public interest news fund, it "continue[s] to explore options for additional fiscal measures", while "mindful of the current financial climate". Any further funding would build on the Future News Fund model.
- On statutory notices, it does "not intend to conduct a review" of rules and practices, citing the risk that intervention could harm an "already fragile industry". It is monitoring the sector's Public Notice Portal.
- On an audit of public money for local news, it says it "would therefore not be appropriate" to analyse expenditure with a view to redistribution. It describes a Cabinet Office pilot with Nub News to test its value as an advertising channel after the local elections.
- On fair remuneration for smaller publishers, it points to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, under which the DMU "could" set conduct requirements, including on "fair and reasonable payment terms". These would vary case by case.