Question reference: S5W-29963
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 16 June 2020
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Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 June 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) (i) local, (ii) regional and (iii) national newspapers and (b) media outlets have ceased operation in the last 12 months; what analysis it has carried out of the impact that the COVID-19 outbreak has had on these publications, and what support it has provided to them to prevent them from collapse during the pandemic.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold detailed statistics on (a)(i), (ii) and (iii). However, data on the number of businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE is available from the Office for National Statistics Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). Data from the IDBR show that the number of businesses in the newspaper sector has remained steady between March 2018 and March 2019, at 120 businesses. The newspaper sector has been defined here to include: printing and publishing of newspapers, pre-press and pre-media services and news agency activities.
As regards other media outlets in (b), which include magazines, radio and tv, the IDBR shows that the number of businesses in these sectors increased from 525 in March 2018 to 540 in March 2019.
During the covid-19 pandemic the Scottish Government has published an experimental Monthly Business Turnover Index which gives an early indicator of business activity using the survey data held by the Scottish Government. It reports the net balance of firms reporting increasing or decreasing turnover, in real terms, compared to 12 months ago. Values above 50 indicate more companies are showing increased turnover than decreased turnover. The latest results show that in April 2020, the net balance for Transport, Storage and Communication (which includes newspapers and other media outlets) was 24.2, indicating more companies (a majority) were showing reduced turnover than increasing. It is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/monthly-business-turnover-index-april-2020/ . The Scottish Government has also published experimental Monthly GDP Estimates that are available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/monthly-gdp-april-2020/
The Scottish Government has also been in close contact with the newspaper sector in Scotland and is aware of the issues that it is currently facing.
The Scottish Government has provided a range of business support to the Scottish newspaper industry and media outlets during the covid-19 pandemic. Businesses were able to access the business support set out in find business support website at https://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/ .
In addition to this support, on 14 May the Cabinet Secretary for Finance announced that the Scottish Government will invest £3 million in additional marketing activity with Scottish newspapers across the rest of the year. This is on top of the additional £440,000 it has already invested in increasing marketing of public health messages. On 20 May the Coronavirus (Scotland) (No. 2) Bill passed in the Scottish Parliament includes an amendment that gives the newspaper industry 100% rates relief for a year, by placing them in the same category as the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.