The UK Government has been accused of failing to “reflect the urgency and severity of the situation” in a response published today to the House of Lords Future of News inquiry.
The Government said it is considering ways to support local journalism including financial support such as innovation funding and tax relief.
But it also noted this must be “mindful of the current fiscal climate”.
The Government also confirmed it “does not intend to legislate further in the current parliamentary session” against SLAPPs (strategic litigation against public participation) – expensive lawsuits designed to intimidate journalists or other critical voices into silence.
The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee published its Future of News report in November.
It warned that without action being taken, there was a “realistic possibility” that the UK would see the emergence of a “two-tier media environment” in which a minority of the population is well-served by high-quality, paywalled news while the rest are left with low-quality free information.
Since the report was published The Sun has launched a partial paywall and Sky News has said it plans to charge for some “premium” online content.
Govt responds to Future of News inquiry recommendations from innovation funding to public notices online
Baroness Tina Stowell, who chaired the Future of News inquiry, said: “The Government response fails to reflect the urgency and severity of the situation facing the UK’s news media environment.”
She added that a “two-tier” news landscape “poses a threat to democracy if we’re left with a news environment which doesn’t support shared understanding of basic facts and how the world appears to each other” and said the announcement from Sky News “is evidence that this situation is playing out already”.
In its response, the Government repeatedly cited a Local Media Strategy through which it said it intends to “support the long term financial sustainability of local journalism, where financial pressures are greatest”. Details of the strategy have not yet been published.
The Lords report had suggested consulting on allowing a wider range of news outlets to benefit from public notice advertising revenue by changing the definition of the word “newspaper” to include online and a wider variety of print outlets.
But the Government said it has “no current plans” to do this. “Government intervention here has the potential for unintended consequences, including by adversely impacting an already fragile industry at a critical time in its transition to sustainable online-focused business models.”
It said the industry’s own centralised online Public Notice Portal supported financially by the Google News Initiative is the type of innovation and collaboration that is “integral to securing the sector’s future” and that it will “seek to further support and incentivise it through our Local Media Strategy”.
The Lords report also recommended a review of the impacts of business rates relief on local newspaper offices with the current relief expiring in March and a consultation on tax breaks for hiring local journalists.
The Government said: “The financial health and sustainability of local journalism is an area of particular concern for this Government, and the DCMS Secretary of State has announced plans for a Local Media Strategy…
“We are working across Government and with other stakeholders in developing the new Strategy, and are considering all possible options including financial support through new or existing tax reliefs, whilst being mindful of the current fiscal climate.”
Peers also recommended an innovation catalyst scheme modelled on start-up accelerators.
“The Government is considering all possible options to support local journalism through our Local Media Strategy, including financial support such as innovation funding, while mindful of the current fiscal climate,” it said in response.
“We continue to be interested in any new technological prototypes, start-ups and innovative revenue generation as a means to sustain the industry as it transitions to digital-first business models.”
In 2019 the then-Conservative government established a £2m innovation fund to support local and regional public interest journalism but it was not renewed. The Government today said any further innovation funding should “build on lessons learned” from that project.
Govt wants ‘appropriate balance struck’ on SLAPPs
The Lords report also accused the Government of “failing to prioritise” action against SLAPPs, saying: “Viable legislative options and precedents exist. What is missing now is political will.”
It urged the publication of draft legislative proposals by the summer recess and suggested the Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill could be used as a vehicle for action.
But the Government said that although it is “committed to upholding justice and tackling SLAPPs to protect investigative journalism and free speech” it has no plans for new legislation.
SLAPPs over stories relating to economic crime are covered by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which passed into law in 2023, but a standalone bill to cover all topics has long been urged.
An anti-SLAPP Private Members’ Bill was passing through Parliament before Rishi Sunak called a surprise general election date last year. It had support from the media industry and the Government although changes had been urged relating to courts needing to make a subjective judgment on the intent of a claimant, and for the definition of the public interest to be refined.
The Government said in its response to the Future of News report that it is “considering lessons learnt” from this bill “to make sure that an appropriate balance is struck between the rights to access justice and free speech”.
Baroness Stowell said: “Responsibility for rebuilding public trust rests with the news industry itself. Broadcasters must address what’s causing some audiences to look elsewhere. But it is disappointing that the Government is not clearer on how it will support the industry stand on its own two feet in the face of rapid technological change. In particular, the response fails to set out concrete steps to tackle local news deserts and SLAPPs.
“The Government’s assertion that it is ‘committed to upholding justice and tackling SLAPPs to protect investigative journalism and free speech’ is undermined by its apparent determination not to legislate in this area.
“While we are pleased to hear that work is underway on a Local Media Strategy, details of how this is being developed and a timeline for publication remain unclear.”
The Lords committee had also advised the Government to give Ofcom “the necessary powers to investigate tech firm recommender algorithms and the operations of large language models”.
Also dismissed by the Government were recommendations that it “should review the work and impact of brand safety organisations on news publisher revenue”, that it should support the expansion of the BBC-funded Local Democracy Reporting Service, and that it put online news intermediaries within the scope of media ownership rules.
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