§ Mr. Ron Lewisasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a list, in pursuance of his powers under the Monopolies and Mergers Act, 1965, of daily, Sunday and provincial newspapers which have been amalgamated in one form or another since the Act came into force.
§ Mr. JaySince 5th August 1965, when the Monopolies and Mergers Act 196564W came into force, Board of Trade consent has been given to the change of ownership of the following newspapers:—
- (i) the Salisbury Times.
- (ii) the Coventry Express.
- (iii) the South Wales Gazette.
- (iv) the Carmarthen Journal.
- (v) the Smethwick Telephone and Warley Courier.
- (vi) the Welwyn Times and Hatfield Herald and the Stevenage News.
- (vii) the Torquay Times, the Paignton News and the South Devon Journal.
All of these publications are local weekly newspapers with circulations of less than 25,000 copies per day of publication.
The only application for consent in respect of a national or Sunday newspaper has concerned the proposal to bring The Times and the Sunday Times under common ownership. This application is still being considered by the Monopolies Commission.