Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the financial sustainability of the regional press industry.

The Government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers 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.

We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry. This includes our new digital markets regime, which will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers. This will make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press, including at local level.

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.