Calls To Save Welsh News Ahead of Senedd Debate On Council Tax Notices

News Media Association chief executive Owen Meredith and Heléna Herklots CBE, Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, have called for proposals to remove the statutory requirement on local authorities to publish council taxes in printed local newspapers to be rejected.

Ahead of a Senedd debate on the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill tomorrow, organisations including the Society of Editors and the NUJ have joined calls for council tax notices to be kept in local papers.

In an article, Heléna Herklots CBE, said: “In the past, legislation has been used to make information and services more accessible, to help enable more people to access them, to help tackle the barriers that leave people excluded. But these proposals, offered with no detail about what suitable alternative arrangements mean – suggesting little thought has been given to those who could be affected by the changes – risk having the opposite effect.

“That’s why, the requirement to publish council tax notices in local newspapers should be retained, and the proposals to remove this should be removed from the Bill currently making its way through the Senedd.”

Owen Meredith said in a piece: “It is not too late for the Welsh government and Members of the Senedd to change course and save Welsh journalism. An amendment to the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill by Peter Fox MS would remove the damaging Section 20 from the Bill, ensuring that public notices remain in printed local newspapers.

“We urge both the Welsh government and Members of the Senedd from all parties to stand up for transparency and Welsh journalism by backing this amendment tomorrow.  Otherwise, journalism and democratic accountability could suffer irreparable harm. And for all of us who believe in a robust and vibrant democracy, that would be an unacceptable outcome.”

The debate tomorrow is the final opportunity for the Senedd to remove Section 20 from the Bill.