L92 Response Accepted AI-assessed

Secretary of State Media Merger Decisions

Recommendation

The Secretary of State should remain responsible for public interest decisions in relation to media mergers. The Secretary of State should be required either to accept the advice provided by the independent regulators, or to explain why that advice has been rejected. At the same time, whichever way the Secretary of State decides the matter, the nature and extent of any submissions or lobbying to which the Secretary of State and his officials and advisors had been subject should be recorded and published.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to Gov.uk (27 Feb 2025), the Secretary of State retains responsibility for public interest decisions regarding media mergers, with established requirements to consider advice from independent regulators and publish reasons for decisions. According to Gov.uk (27 Feb 2025) lobbying records related to these decisions are also subject to transparency requirements, and according to Gov.uk (29 Nov 2012), this framework is supported by legislation such as the Enterprise Act 2002 and Communications Act 2003.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted
Accepted UK Government
29 Nov 2012

The government accepted recommendations on media plurality. Ofcom developed a measurement framework for media plurality in 2015, publishes regular Media Nations reports, and has a full menu of remedies available for plurality concerns. The Enterprise Act 2002 and Communications Act 2003 provide the legislative basis for intervention on media mergers. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report

Read Full Response
Note: PM David Cameron responded to all 92 recommendations with a single statement accepting them "in principle" or "in part". No per-recommendation response was published.
Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Confirmed Completed
27 Feb 2025
Government Other

The Secretary of State retains responsibility for public interest decisions on media mergers. Requirements to consider independent regulator advice and publish reasoning are established. Lobbying records are subject to transparency requirements.

View detailed findings

Secretary of State media merger decision framework operates broadly as recommended.

DCMS media merger process View Source
Source
Inquiry Leveson Inquiry
Report An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press 29 Nov 2012
View Source
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Themes & Tags
Weak Government Accountability & Scrutiny Plurality Media Ownership Mergers Lobbying
Recommendation age 13.3 yrs
Last formal update 4863 days ago