Author Archives: Owen Meredith

Our local news media is at the heart of community and the first line of defence against corruption in public life. Across the country, thousands of local journalists work tirelessly to hold power to account on behalf of local residents, uncovering truths which powerful decision-makers might prefer to keep hidden.

As more power is devolved to local decision makers, the transparency and scrutiny provided by local journalists will become even more important. Citizens must have full oversight of any plans to change how their local authority governs, and how their money is being spent.

The underlying aim of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill to give more power to local communities is laudable. At the News Media Association, we passionately support vibrant local communities served by strong local news media titles.

However, one part of the Bill has caused concern and bemusement within our sector – namely the provision to remove the statutory requirement within the Local Government Act 2000 for communities to be notified of changes to a council’s governance structure through a public notice in a local newspaper. Instead, councils would be free to flag such changes “in a manner they think appropriate”, giving scope for such decisions to be kept entirely secret and buried in the darkest corners of council websites.

This creates a disturbing contradiction within the reforms. On one hand, the government claims it wants to give communities more say in their own destinies. Yet the proposed removal of these types of notices from local papers will do the exact opposite by reducing transparency.

The EDCE Bill will introduce some of the biggest changes to local authorities in England since the Local Government Act 1972 – full transparency is critical to delivering that effectively. Local news media is ideally placed to deliver this scrutiny – titles which are highly trusted and enjoy huge audiences in print and digital.