---

Local Media

Yes, but the hon. Gentleman has read out a rather long list of policies that were also Conservative party policies; none was a distinctive Liberal Democrat policy. However, despite what I have said about the hon. Gentleman's previous support for IFNCs, one of the Government's first acts was to scrap them, without having any clear idea of what to put in their place. When I asked the Secretary of State, during DCMS oral questions this week, whether he could point to any other European country in which his new preferred model of local TV works, he could not. It would be very helpful to hon. Members here if the Minister did better in his summing-up, or if he identified a single respected media industry commentator who believes that the figures on local TV stack up. No, this has been done for ideological reasons and has been cheered on, no doubt, by the Government's friends in the Murdoch empire, who object to any intervention in the market or any obstacle to their aim to dominate it. I am afraid that it will mean the end of high-quality news on ITV in the regions and nations of the UK, and that will be the first bitter legacy of the present Government's media policy. The move has also been greeted with dismay by local media leaders—people involved in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. Sly Bailey of Trinity Mirror said:""We believed that the IFNCs' capacity to tap the talent and expertise of regional media companies to provide a viable alternative to the BBC's local news made sense for everyone…we don't see 'City TV' as a viable proposition. Our research suggests that the costs are too high and the revenues too low to support a sustainable business model."" Tony Watson, managing director of the Press Association, said that""we are sorry to see the scheme for independently funded news consortia scrapped"." David Faulkner, managing director of NWN Media, said:""The concept of the Independently Funded News Consortia offered a real way forward in boosting news provision on Channel 3"—" ITV—""and multi-platform coverage across the whole of Wales…We are disappointed with today's statement that the news pilots will not proceed.""