Secretary of State Media Merger Decisions
Leveson Inquiry · An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · Issued 29 November 2012 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry 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.
Leveson Inquiry, An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · 29 Nov 2012 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- Section 44A of the Enterprise Act 2002, inserted by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, requires the Secretary of State to consult Ofcom on media public interest considerations and to publish reasons for the decision (Enterprise Act 2002, Section 44A, legislation.gov.uk).
- This framework requires the Secretary of State either to follow the independent regulators' advice or to explain publicly why the advice was not followed, consistent with the recommendation.
- The framework was applied in the 21st Century Fox/Sky merger (2017-2018), where the Secretary of State published detailed reasoning for the referral to the CMA following Ofcom's public interest assessment (DCMS, Fox/Sky merger decision, 2017-2018).
Sources
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
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
UK Government · 29 Nov 2012 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 27 Feb 2025 · Government 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 source → Confirmed Completed
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.