EDM 1399: PA Media Ltd parliamentary newswire coverage

That this House notes with concern the proposals by PA Media Ltd, trading name of the Press Association, to cut posts and merge the previously separate teams responsible for monitoring the House of Commons and House of Lords for the purposes of providing a newswire service to journalists, and reduce the number of dedicated political journalists covering Holyrood; further notes that the separation of these remits has allowed staff to ensure that updates on the organisation’s Newswire service are accurate, trusted and hugely valued by outlets who need not rely on Hansard uploads, which are not available immediately after debates; fears the merger of this work will lead to less detailed coverage of events in both Houses and little to no coverage of activity in one House if journalists are directed to focus resources differently; notes that the proposals have been strongly condemned by the National Union of Journalists as a threat to public interest journalism on democratic activity by elected officials, with the public’s ability to scrutinise parliamentarians negatively impacted if reporting on parliamentary activity is curtailed; and calls on PA Media Ltd to pause the implementation of these proposals and cuts to others in the Content team pending further meaningful discussions with the union and parliamentarians from across the two Houses and thorough consideration of alternative proposals.