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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to provide funding for, and (2) to further the work of, the Future News Pilot Fund.

The government invested £2 million in the pilot Future News Fund, which sought to invest in new technological prototypes, start-ups and innovative business models to explore new ways of sustaining public interest news in a changing landscape. The pilot received 178 applications and grants were awarded to 19 projects.

The pilot fund came to an end in June 2020. We are considering options for taking forward innovation funding, building on the model set by the Future News Fund pilot and taking into account Nesta’s independent evaluation, sector feedback, and the changing landscape as a result of Covid-19.