PRP24(20) PRESS RECOGNITION PANEL BOARD CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT – JULY 2020 Meeting: by email Status: for noting Lead responsibility: Susie Uppal, Contact details: 020 3443 7072 Chief Executive Purpose 1. The purpose of this paper is to provide an update to the Board on Executive activity since the June 2020 CE report. 2. The Board is invited to note the contents of the Chief Executive’s report. Executive summary 3. The Board is being updated in respect of organisational, financial and banking matters. Delivery updates Finance update 4. A bank-reconciled set of management accounts as at 30 June 2020 is attached at Annex A. The deficit for the period to date is £10,522 against the year to date forecast of £22,217. This represents a positive variance of £11,695 compared to the year to date forecast. The bulk of this variance (£10,175) relates to budgeted HR and recruitment costs which are still anticipated later in the year. Delivery update 5. The annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2020 were laid in Parliament and the Scottish Parliament on 21 July 2020 with copies provided for information to the Northern Ireland Assembly and the National Assembly for Wales. I wrote to the NAO to express appreciation for the smooth and efficient conclusion of the audit. page 1 of 3 Board recruitment update 6. The Assessment Panel held an online meeting with Green Park to review the shortlist of candidates and agreed the final group for interview. The interviews will be held on 16 and 17 September 2020. Stakeholder engagement update 7. Redacted. 8. The Chair wrote to the Minister of State for Media and Data, John Whittingdale MP in response to question he provided on 16 June 2020 to parliamentary questions asked by Bill Wiggin MP. The letter is attached at Annex C. 9. Redacted. 10. The Chair had a virtual meeting with Daisy Cooper MP on 13 July 2020. They discussed the Recognition system and the benefits of s40 to the press and the public. Research update 11. Annex E includes an update on key external matters relevant to our work. Implications 12. The implications of decisions taken by the Board as set out in this paper are as follows: • Budget – There are no specific implications in addition to the issues referenced. • Legislation – no specific implications. • Resources – any resourcing considerations are referenced and there are no specific implications other than these. • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – no specific implications. Devolved nations 13. There are no implications/differences in relation to the areas of work covered in this paper and the devolved nations. page 2 of 3 Communications 14. There are no other issues to report which have communications implications, so far as I am aware. Risks 15. There are a range of risks involved in the areas of work covered in this Paper. 16. A robust and defensible position in relation to the PRP’s finances is required in order to avoid reputational damage and to ensure compliance with HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money. Recommendations 17. The Board is asked to note the contents of the Chief Executive’s report. Attachments Annex A - Management accounts as at 30 June 2020 Annex B - redacted Annex C - Letter to the Minister of State for Media and Data, John Whittingdale MP Annex D - redacted Annex E - External matters update page 3 of 3 Press Recognition Panel Period ended 30 June 2020 3 Months to June 2020 Full year to March D2021 Actual Budget Variance Explanation Budget £ £ £ £ Income Subscription Fees 54,849 54,849 - 220,000 Bank Interest 538 720 182 2,880 Total Income 55,387 55,569 182 222,880 Expenditure Board and Committee costs Salaries & NIC 16,282 17,181 (899) 69,224 Travel & Subsistence - 60 (60) 240 Other costs --- 3,600 Total Board and Committee Costs 16,282 17,241 (959) 73,064 Communications Publications --- 9,600 Website and Upgrades 127 129 (2) 523 Total Communications Costs 127 129 (2) 10,123 Other costs Executive team costs 40,189 39,071 1,118 Variance expected to even out later in 151,501 the year HR & Recruitment - 10,175 (10,175) Costs not yet invoiced for recruitment. 18,988 Related advertising and candidate expenses not yet incurred Office costs 1,458 1,644 (186) 6,641 Meeting rooms - 1,100 (1,100) Meeting room costs not incurred 5,700 during lockdown period Travel & Subsistence - 60 (60) 240 Information Technology 1,273 1,052 221 5,207 Accountancy 5,170 5,230 (60) 24,692 Audit Fees --- 12,000 Printing & Stationery 252 910 (658) Design costs for annual report not yet 1,090 incurred Insurance 631 628 3 3,060 Legal --- 30,000 Subscriptions & publications 509 510 (1) 2,094 Finance charges 18 36 (18) 144 Sundry expenses - - - 576 49,500 60,416 (10,916) 261,933 Total Expenditure 65,909 77,786 (11,877) 345,120 (Deficit) for the period (10,522) (22,217) 11,695 (122,240) Reserves Bfwd 717,484 717,484 717,484 Reserves Cfwd 706,962 695,267 595,244 Press Recognition Panel Period ended 30 June 2020 Jun-20 Mar-20 £ £ £ £ Fixed assets 1,434 - Current Assets Current account 92,552 159,222 Barclays account 711,295 710,763 Cash at bank 803,847 869,985 Prepayments 4,050 5,682 Accrued Income 181 175 Third Party Deposit 369 369 Sundry debtors 4,600 6,226 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Trade creditors 4,204 453 Deferred income 75,947 130,795 Social security and other taxes 4,466 4,809 Pensions 1,035 1,035 Sundry creditors and accruals 17,267 21,635 102,919 158,727 Net Current Assets 705,528 717,484 Net Assets 706,962 717,484 Funds brought forward Funds bought forward at 31 March 717,484 787,947 Surplus/(deficit) for the period (10,522) (70,463) 706,962 717,484 Press Recognition Panel Mappin House 4 Winsley Street London W1W 8HF Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MP Minister of State for Media and Data 4th Floor 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ Sent by email Dear Mr Whittingdale, I am writing in response to answers you provided on 16 June 2020 to parliamentary questions asked by Bill Wiggin MP. One answer stated: IPSO is independent of government. In 2016 it commissioned its own external review which found it had made some important achievements in demonstrating it was an independent and effective regulator. Another answer stated: There now exists a strengthened, independent, self-regulatory system for the press. The majority of traditional publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of IPSO. A small number of publishers have joined IMPRESS. IPSO is not independent of government. IPSO has recently appointed a member of the House of Lords as its Chair. Lord Faulks has recent affiliations with the Conservative Party and served as Minister of State for Justice between December 2013 and July 2016. The Press Recognition Panel (PRP) could not and would not make such an appointment to its own Board, and a truly independent regulatory body as contemplated by Lord Leveson should not allow it either. The PRP is the only independent body established to assess press regulators against the Royal Charter criteria. IPSO has not been independently assessed by the PRP against the Royal Charter criteria. We recognise that IPSO has moved closer towards meeting some parts of the Royal Charter criteria. However, IPSO is not independent from the news publishing industry and it is not possible to discern a full and clear picture of the complaints it receives. IPSO is not independent and effective. IPSO does not provide the public with the basic levels of protection intended following the Leveson Inquiry. Your focus on ‘traditional publishers’ and ‘national newspapers’ ignores that those publishers are a diminishing source of news. According to the recently published Reuters Digital News report, in April 2020, 79% of people access news online (including social media) compared to 18% who consumed a print publication. Most people access news via online news sites and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, which are also ‘relevant publishers’ within the Crime and Courts Act, and which are neither members IPSO nor IMPRESS. Do let me know if it would useful to meet and discuss further. Yours sincerely, David Wolfe QC Chair of the Press Recognition Panel cc Bill Wiggin MP Annex E to PRP24(20) Update on key external matters 1. The update on key external matters is a research-informed piece based on a sample of information available in the public domain. Commercial Landscape 2. Press Gazette reported that the Daily Star saw the biggest recovery from the worst of the Covid-19 lockdown readership slump in June, according to the latest UK national newspaper circulation figures from ABC. The tabloid grew its average daily circulation by 5% month-on-month to 223,727. No other paid-for national newspaper grew its circulation by more than 3% in June, making it a slightly slower overall rate of month-on-month recovery than was seen in May. The Evening Standard began to distribute more copies again as lockdown gradually eased, taking it back up by 8% to 489,154 – still almost half its distribution last year. The Sunday Express and Financial Times saw their circulations drop slightly between May and June. 3. As reported by Press Gazette, the UK’s largest newspaper group Reach has announced plans to cut 550 staff (or around 12% of its workforce). The cutbacks are part of changes intended to deliver savings of £35m a year at a one-off cost of £20m.