Freedom to publish The strength of the UK’s publishing industry – historically and today – is built on our country’s commitment to free and open expression of thoughts and ideas. We welcome government commitments to preserving free speech. In future trade agreements and international instruments, we urge the UK to champion its commitment to free…
Curriculum The educational resources produced by publishers play a vital role in improving student attainment whilst reducing teacher workloads. Publishers play an essential role in creating and distributing high quality resources to schools and have significant expertise and experience developing these materials. They want all students to learn from high-quality resources. A huge array of materials…
Digital VAT Ever since the UK’s VAT regime was established in the 1970s, printed books, magazines and newspapers have been VAT exempt. It was recognised that books and knowledge are essential to people’s lives and therefore applying a tax on reading would be unfair and inappropriate. This long-standing belief has helped ensure that reading and…
Copyright & IP Copyright is the cornerstone of the publishing process. The UK’s current copyright provisions, widely considered as gold-standard, aim to ensure authors and publishers are fairly rewarded for their work and creativity. Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind, protected in law via copyright, patent, design and trade mark provisions. Championing the…
No.10 Downing Street has joined the celebrations for World Book Day 2020, hosting thirty school children from Southwark to help ‘Share a Million Stories’ and celebrate reading for pleasure. Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell and children from Charles Dickens Primary School in Southwark for the event this week. Cressida Cowell…
We are delighted that the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Publishing has now launched its latest report Maintaining a World Leading Publishing Sector. Our sincere thanks go to Andrew Lewer MBE MP, who has chaired this process and who has helped us navigate the delays caused by the General Election.