§ Mr. Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what monitoring his Department undertakes of the content of local authority newspapers; and if he will make a statement. [118782]
§ Ms Beverley HughesMy Department does not monitor the content of local authority newspapers.
§ Mr. Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy that newspapers published by local authorities should be subject to the complaints procedure of the Press Complaints Commission; and if he will make a statement. [118781]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe Press Complaints Commission is part of a self-regulatory regime for the newspaper industry. All local authority publicity, including newspapers published by local authorities, is subject to the statutory regulatory regime provided by the Local Government Act 1986 and the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity issued by the Secretary of State thereunder.