Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing Ofcom to protect local radio news services from reductions by multimedia companies.

Ofcom has a statutory duty under section 314 of the Communication Act 2013 to ensure that holders of analogue local radio licences carry locally relevant content and that a suitable proportion of local content is made locally. Ofcom are required to publish and keep under review guidance for commercial radio licensees setting out the detailed local programming requirements that Ofcom has considers appropriate for local stations to carry, including the minimum amount of locally made news. Ofcom's localness guidelines are published on Ofcom's website. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/information-for-industry/radio-broadcasters/localness