News industry furlough claims halve in April as JPI Media stops taking Govt cash

The amount of Government cash claimed by the news media industry through the Covid-19 furlough scheme roughly halved in April compared to the month before.

In April regional, broadcast, digital and B2B media companies claimed somewhere between £230,012.31 and £810,000 (the Government publishes the amounts claimed only in banded ranges).

One of the biggest claimants, JPI Media, stopped using the scheme altogether from 1 April after receiving between £100,001 and £250,000 per month since December (when the Government started publishing the data).

The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post publisher previously revealed in its company accounts it received £3.5m in furlough in 2020.

The news media industry claimed:

between £515,018.27 and £1.515m in March
between £765,018.26 and £1.9m in February
between £535,018.25 and £1.525m in January
between £390,000 and £1.18m in December.

This brings the total bill for the industry from December to April to between £2.4m and £6.9m.

The scheme, under which the Government pays 80% of an employee’s wages for hours they do not work while on furlough, is due to end on 30 September. Companies were forced to start picking up 10% of the bill from 1 July.

Think tank The Resolution Foundation has called for a slower withdrawal of the scheme, fearing its end could help contribute to a return to levels of unemployment not seen since the 1990s.

JPI Media was the only publisher in our list to stop claiming in April (Tindle Newspapers Ltd also did, but Tindle continued to claim under some of its other entities).

Archant, the fourth biggest regional publisher behind Reach, Newsquest and JPI, reduced its claim to its lowest since December, making its Government grant somewhere between £50,001 and £100,000.

Southwark Newspapers reduced its claim from between £10,001 and £25,000 to between £0.01 to £10,000. It has been fluctuating between the two brackets since December.

In broadcast, Bauer Radio reduced its claim from the £50,001 to £100,000 bracket where it had been since December to between £10,001 and £25,000. Bauer Media Audio and Global Radio both reduced their claims to the £0.01 to £10,000 band (from £10,001-£25,000 to £25,001-£50,000 respectively).

The rest of the news media companies listed below kept their claims level between March and April.

See below for a full list of UK media companies that used the job retention scheme in April, ranked by their latest claims and with claim totals given in £.

Regional press

Company	Dec-20	Jan-21	Feb-21	Mar-21	Apr-21
ARCHANT COMMUNITY MEDIA LTD	50,001 to 100,000	100,001 to 250,000	250,001 to 500,000	100,001 to 250,000	50,001 to 100,000
MIDLAND NEWS ASSOCIATION LTD	50,001 to 100,000	100,001 to 250,000	100,001 to 250,000	100,001 to 250,000	50,001 to 100,000
NEWSQUEST MEDIA GROUP LTD	25,001 to 50,000	25,001 to 50,000	50,001 to 100,000	25,001 to 50,000	25,001 to 50,000
TINDLE DEVON NEWSPAPERS LTD	10,001 to 25,000	25,001 to 50,000	25,001 to 50,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000
KM MEDIA GROUP LIMITED	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	25,001 to 50,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000
CITY A.M. LTD	25,001 to 50,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000
BAYLIS MEDIA LTD	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000
HIGHLAND NEWS AND MEDIA LIMI TED	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000
ILIFFE MEDIA PUBLISHING LIMI TED	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000
IRISH NEWS LTD	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000
SOUTHWARK NEWSPAPER LTD	0.01 to 10,000	10,001 to 25,000	0.01 to 10,000	10,001 to 25,000	0.01 to 10,000
ILIFFE MEDIA LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
ILIFFE MEDIA GROUP LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
TINDLE NEWSPAPERS WALES AND THE BORDERS LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
TINDLE NEWSPAPERS SURREY & H AMPSHIRE LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
INDEPENDENT NEWS & MEDIA LTD	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
NEW MILTON NEWS AND MEDIA LT D	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
GAZETTE NEWSPAPER GROUP LTD	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
HOLDERNESS NEWSPAPERS LTD	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
POST NEWSPAPERS LTD	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
STRATFORD NEWS AND MEDIA LTD	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
JPIMEDIA PUBLISHING LIMITED	100,001 to 250,000	100,001 to 250,000	100,001 to 250,000	100,001 to 250,000	0
TINDLE NEWSPAPERS LTD	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0

Broadcast

Company	Dec-20	Jan-21	Feb-21	Mar-21	Apr-21
BAUER RADIO LTD	50,001 to 100,000	50,001 to 100,000	50,001 to 100,000	50,001 to 100,000	10,001 to 25,000
GLOBAL MEDIA GROUP SERVICES LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	10,001 to 25,000	25,001 to 50,000	25,001 to 50,000	0.01 to 10,000
BAUER MEDIA AUDIO LIMITED	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	0.01 to 10,000
AL JAZEERA INTERNATIONAL LTD		0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
INDEPENDENT TELEVISION NEWS LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000

Digital media

Company	Dec-20	Jan-21	Feb-21	Mar-21	Apr-21
TORTOISE MEDIA LTD		0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
VICE UK LTD	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000

Magazines

Company	Dec-20	Jan-21	Feb-21	Mar-21	Apr-21
TIME OUT ENGLAND LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	25,001 to 50,000	50,001 to 100,000	25,001 to 50,000	25,001 to 50,000
THE CONDE NAST PUBLICATIONS LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	10,001 to 25,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
THE CHELSEA MAGAZINE COMPANY LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
TIME OUT	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
THE ECONOMIST NEWSPAPER LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
IMMEDIATE MEDIA COMPANY BRISTOL LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
IMMEDIATE MEDIA COMPANY LONDON LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
POSITIVE NEWS PUBLISHING LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000

B2B media

Company	Dec-20	Jan-21	Feb-21	Mar-21	Apr-21
WILLIAM REED BUSINESS MEDIA LTD	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	10,001 to 25,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
INCISIVE BUSINESS MEDIA LTD	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000

Specialist news

Company	Dec-20	Jan-21	Feb-21	Mar-21	Apr-21
FRANCE MEDIA LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
HABER WEEKLY NEWSPAPER LTD	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
HAMODIA NEWSPAPER LTD	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
THE JEWISH TELEGRAPH LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000
THE STAGE MEDIA COMPANY LIMITED	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000	0.01 to 10,000

Before December HMRC was legally unable to name companies who had received furlough payments because of taxpayer confidentiality rules under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.

It is now required to name on a monthly basis the employers who have claimed cash, and how much within various banded ranges, due to a Treasury direction made under the Coronavirus Act 2020 in November when the furlough scheme was extended.

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