The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Publishing has called for evidence into how to maintain a world-leading publishing sector in the UK.
The publishing industry generates up to £7.8bn gross value added (GVA) for the wider economy and supports more than 70,000 jobs directly and indirectly. It is also far greater than the sum of its parts. The sector is extraordinarily wide-ranging in its economic and social impact, from playing a fundamental role in children's education and furthering global science and R&D, through to blockbuster fiction that inspires West End hits and Oscar-winning films.
Fundamentally linked to the success of the publishing industry is the bookselling sector, which makes a strong economic contribution to the health of the UK economy in its own right, with a turnover to the value of £1.3bn and employing 24,400 directly.
The industry as a whole is fundamental in safeguarding the UK's cultural identity and standing in the world, with the UK already being the world's biggest exporter of physical books and punching well above its weight in contributing to global academic research.
However, the sector faces a number of challenges in the coming years. From copyright and IP protection abroad, to future trading relationship with the EU and the rest of world, and from work to end the VAT discrimination on digital publications, to promoting wider literacy and accessibility for all, 2018 will prove a decisive year for the industry and will likely set its regulatory framework for years to come.
Andrew Lewer, MP for Northampton South, is now urging the trade to share their views on future challenges such as the impact of Brexit, export growth, copyright and IP protection, education and research and piracy. The information will inform a report produced by the APPG towards the end of the year, with policy recommendations for government.
Written evidence can be submitted to ileana.grigorescu@parliament.uk until 5pm on March 15, 2018. Each submission should be no more than 3,000 words in length; be in Word format with as little use of colour or logos as possible; and have numbered paragraphs.
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