NMA: Proposed Removal Of Licensing Application Notices From Local Newspapers Would Amount To A Betrayal Of Local Communities
Responding to the Chancellor’s comments in the Mail on Sunday this morning, News Media Association chief executive Owen Meredith said: “The proposed removal of licensing application notices from local newspapers would amount to a betrayal of local communities and the public’s right to know.
“Placing public notices in local news media ensures that they appear in independent and highly trusted environments and are fully visible to the communities affected by proposals. Those notices appear in print and online via the Public Notice Portal, ensuring maximum reach and coverage. Changing this would, at a stroke, disenfranchise local communities and deprive local journalism of a vital revenue stream.
“Local pubs, like local papers, are at the heart of their communities and the Government should rightly support them. This proposal does nothing to help either. It is not a cut to bureaucratic red tape, as framed, but a damaging assault on democratic engagement. It is imperative for the future of our local news industry that the government changes course and keeps licensing notices in local news media.”
- In an interview with the Mail on Sunday trailing the announcement of a new National Licensing Policy Framework, the Chancellor said she was looking to scrap was “the outdated rule that means [a business] needs to advertise in locally printed press when applying for a licence” as part of the proposed reforms.
- Red tape slashed to revamp high streets with new cafes and bars (Department for Business & Trade)