Media Merger Referral Consultation
Leveson Inquiry · An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · Issued 29 November 2012 · Addressed to: UK Government
Government responseUK Government: Under consideration (Aug 2014)
DeliveryNo statement from UK Government found
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Before making a decision to refer a media merger to the competition authorities on public interest grounds, the Secretary of State should consult relevant parties as to the arguments for and against a referral, and should be required to make public his reasons for reaching a decision one way or the other.
Leveson Inquiry, An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · 29 Nov 2012 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
The Inquiry recommended consulting relevant parties and publishing reasons regarding media merger referrals. In August 2014, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport stated that it would not consider changes to the regulatory framework for media plurality until a measurement framework and baseline assessment were delivered (Department for Culture, Media and Sport response, Aug 2014). The department noted that its consultation response did not review existing policy levers or propose remedies (Department for Culture, Media and Sport response, Aug 2014).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 1 Oct 2026.
Report-level response context
Government response
●UK Government · Under consideration · 6 Aug 2014
Government has been clear that it will not consider changes to the existing policy or regulatory framework for media plurality until the measurement framework and baseline assessment have been delivered, so that we can ensure any changes are proportionate and targeted. Therefore our response to the consultation does not seek to review existing regulatory and policy levers, nor does it seek to propose potential remedies.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from UK Government has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.