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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to estimate the number of people who access information about the activities of their local authorities from their local or regional newspapers.

Local press plays a vital role in scrutinising local authorities and supporting democratic engagement at local level, and there is a wealth of evidence relating to how audiences engage with this role. Ofcom’s most recent Local News and Media Survey found that nearly half of UK adults use local media to seek out local government information, such as local council updates or plans. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism's most recent global survey of news audiences found that people consider local newspapers and other news media to be a better source of information on local politics and government than online platforms, to a greater degree than for any other type of local news or information.

Last year, DCMS commissioned research last year into the relationship between local news provision and local public service performance. That research has helped inform our plans for the Local Media Strategy to support local journalism. As part of the Strategy, we want to better empower local media to hold local public services to account, and we are exploring whether there is more that local authorities can do to support the vital role that local media plays, for example through increased openness in providing local journalists with access to information. We will also continue to monitor how audiences engage with this role. More detail will be announced on the Strategy and our commissioned research in the coming months.