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Stephen Timms MPPeriodical Publishers Association |
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Thank you for inviting me to join you today. I am delighted to be here and grateful for your hospitality. There are a whole range of fields in which the Department is working, often with the PPA, to advance the interests of the industry and I thought I would just give an overview today of the major ones. Importance of the Sector In this room today we have Chief Executives from some of the most influential publishing companies not just in the UK, but also in the world. You represent a superbly successful industry and a very important one for the UK. And I did want to emphasise that at the outset, that we do recognise the immense contribution that this industry makes to the UK economy, alongside its perhaps much better understood role in the social and cultural life of this country. You are of course the channel through which key elements of our culture are conveyed and the means through which, from our childhood, we absorb them. The Eagle, which we're being reminded of today, was a big influence on my childhood, and Look and Learn which we've been talking about and other publications play that role throughout our lives. But you are also a massive contributor to the strength of our economy. The Prime Minister has sometimes characterised the goals of this Government as being to build a strong society and a strong economy, and you are playing a big part in both. I think that is one reason I have always found this industry a fascinating one. As a new MP some years ago I undertook an industry placement through a body called the Industry and Parliament Trust, and mine was with Emap. I was at the Peterborough Evening Telegraph on the day when Emap's local newspapers were sold, I went to see Kevin Hand in Paris, and I attended meetings with David Arculus and Robin Miller. I enjoyed that placement very much and I am very pleased to see some of those I met during that period here today – some still at Emap and some not. Recent Reports I was appointed to my current position in May, on the last occasion when we all had a Ministerial change around. One of my first official duties was to launch the Publishing Competitiveness Analysis Report, titled 'Publishing in the knowledge economy'. Although I felt that I did know something about the industry, I was startled by the data about its sheer size, with an estimated total publishing revenue figure of £18.4 billion, with magazines accounting for £6.2bn, 35% of the total. The Report provided a strong account of the industry's major strengths in terms of diversity, innovation, reader loyalty and strong brands. In parallel to the work on the Competitiveness Analysis, the DTI also funded an E-Commerce Impact Assessment. This has now been published on the UK Publishing Media and UK Online for Business websites, and will be launched later in the year. I hope that this work will stimulate discussion in the sector: the adoption of new technologies in business is a prime concern for your businesses. The development of e-commerce has great significance for the economy as a whole and, like everyone else, you have the challenge of exploiting e commerce in developing your own businesses. But you also have the role of driving progress more widely through developing innovative and attractive digital content that people are going to want to go online to access. The impact assessment also presents the many opportunities that e-commerce can provide for the magazine sector, like reduced costs and production times, and enhancing the sector as an advertising vehicle. It stresses the importance of leadership from the top. It is Chief Executives like you who will be the initiators and then the drivers of the take up of new digital technologies. There are real opportunities for the publishing sector identified in these reports. Opportunities in new markets, building on the very powerful brands in the industry, and opportunities in the supply chain. DTI and Industry Partnership The two Reports are evidence of the government's commitment to working in partnership with the UK Publishing industry. The preparation of both of them was co-managed by DTI and UK Publishing Media (UKPM), including of course the PPA. And the industry itself responded very positively to the work in providing information for the reports. We now need to build on this partnership, to keep the momentum going and ensure effective implementation of their recommendations. Do please ensure that the reports are disseminated as widely as possible, and that you and your colleagues contribute as much as you can. The contribution of industry leaders will be essential in driving the recommendations forward. The PPA is now working in the Implementation Group that has been established by DTI and the UKPM, and which will involve industry widely. We need together to follow up the 50 recommendations in the reports. There will be actions for Government, for Trade Associations and for companies. Trade Associations and Government have started the process, but we will need the commitment of the industry and its leaders to bring this exercise to successful completion. Electronic Publishing The growing challenges and potential of electronic publishing are of course of particular interest to magazine publishers. I know that there has been considerable expenditure by some on online development, sometimes with rather little return. A major development has been the recent formation of the Association of Online Publishers (AOP), where the PPA played a key role. It is especially important that the AOP is a cross sector organisation that has the support of the biggest names in publishing. This will add the necessary weight to take forward issues affecting online publishing, and I look forward to seeing the new organisation assisting in driving up standards and revenue. It is interesting to look at the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics on Internet take-up by UK households. Growth slowed at the end of last year and penetration actually fell slightly, I suppose not surprisingly given what was happening in the dot com sector at the time. But this year it has been growing strongly again, with a three percentage point increase in residential penetration in both of the first two quarters of this calendar year, up to nearly 50% of UK households. Government Initiatives We want to play our part in making the UK the best place in the world for e-business. The UK Online for Business programme was launched in September 2000. Over the last year it has helped over 100,000 businesses, particularly small businesses, with a further 175,000 assisted through its very well regarded website. The "Opportunity for all" White Paper in 2001 announced a £30 million expansion programme over the next three years. This significant investment on our part will help businesses transform themselves through the effective use of ICTs. The DTI also works closely with industry on the Information Age Partnership. The IAP has sponsored a new DTI hosted Innovation and Growth team. The team will focus on the future of software, digital content and related services sectors. It will look at the future convergence of software services and digital content, and its implications. The team will then identify how government can overcome barriers that stand in the way of successful convergence, and to find ways to increase its potential economic benefit. We see industry-led Innovation and Growth Teams as the pattern for future Government and Industry working together. The DTI has made it a priority to deliver productivity growth and find new ways of delivering services. We are working with the CBI on creating useful case studies across all businesses. The DTI funded study on multi-channel services will provide case studies of businesses that are successfully pursuing a multi-channel strategy. Broadband This is an industry for which the availability of ever increasing bandwidth is a big opportunity. One of the key recommendations for Government from the ECIA report was to stimulate the take up of broadband, and that is a major part of my work at the DTI. We have been working closely with businesses, through the Broadband Stakeholder Group, to increase the availability and take-up of broadband across the UK. We have thankfully seen prices reduce dramatically since the beginning of the year, and the number of broadband connections in the UK has tripled in that time, passing the one million mark three weeks ago and growing at around 20,000 per week. About two thirds of the population now is within reach of an affordable broadband service, with 40% able to choose between a cable modem or a telephony ADSL-based service, and we want to see rapid progress – for example exploiting the potential of wireless – in providing broadband to those not able to use it at the moment. PPA Collaboration Publishing is an industry made up of very diverse sectors, and it is heartening to see the collaborative work that the PPA have been involved in, for example in the AOP which I mentioned. The PPA should also be commended for its leading role in the reform of the Newspaper & Magazine Supply Chain, in bringing the industry together to work towards a mutually satisfactory solution. This work is still going on with the Joint industry Group, and I welcome further cross industry collaboration to resolve remaining differences. The PPA is also an important member of the Digital Content Forum, and we welcome your continued contribution. We see that as a very important initiative in encouraging development of the kind of content that can persuade people to demand broadband. The PPA also carried out pioneering work in developing the Publishing NTO. I know that it is a source of deep frustration to the publishing sector that it has not been able to attain Sector Skills Council status. We are working closely with the Sector Skills Development Agency to ensure that real options for inclusion in the network remain open, to sectors that don't meet the size and other criteria for stand-alone membership. Do continue with your efforts to seek inclusion and my Department will work closely with you on this. Environment I am the Minister for Corporate Social Responsibility and the PPA has shown real leadership in addressing environmental concerns. In a recent conference on Sectoral Sustainability, I highlighted the importance of Trade Associations in addressing environmental issues. I particularly welcome the work undertaken by the PPA Environmental Committee, with Sally Cartwright as chair. The Publishing Industry, especially traditional print products, has a key role to play in a sustainable society. There is a big issue around wastage in the Publishing sector. Efforts is needed to reduce waste at printer, distribution and at retail level – The Publishing Competitiveness Analysis report estimated wastage of 27% at retail level and 3% wastage at wholesale level for consumer magazines. And things were regarded as getting worse. And so often this is not just an environmental issue, but also an issue of unnecessary cost. I am encouraged to see that the PPA is making significant progress in this area. The DTI supported the PPA Sustainability Scoping study for the UK Periodicals sector, undertaken by PIRA this year. The launch last month of the 'Environmental Healthcheck' accreditation scheme for printers is a good example of different sectors working together to everbody's benefit. There are key challenges ahead for magazine publishers and today's event will be important for planning your future strategy. I hope that the PPA will continue to work closely with DTI, and that we will continue to have your full support and participation in driving forward the recommendations of the Publishing Competitiveness Analysis and ECIA reports. This will assist in maintaining the UK as the best place in the world for the publishing sector. I wish you well for the remainder of your conference and thank you for giving me the opportunity to join you and let's keep working together. |
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Other speeches by Stephen Timms MP
(the following are available from the archive) |
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