Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Defending Democracy Taskforce (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to help tackle threats to democracy arising from the lack of availability of high-quality local news.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport who are core members of the Defending Democracy Taskforce, are in the process of developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is for a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, and thereby contributes to the UK’s democratic resilience.