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A key component of the BBC's public purpose mission is to ensure that audiences can engage fully with major local issues, essential to democracy, keeping audiences informed and holding local authority to account. The BBC works with the local news industry to improve the provision of local journalism and is now announcing the result of the competitive procurement for the reselection of 'Suppliers' for the
Local Democracy Reporting Service across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. and the Isle of Man, to deliver the recruitment of 165 journalists, employed by local news providers, across 118 Contract Areas.
This notice outlines the results of the tender process for the 2025 Supplier Applications following the tender which commenced in December 2024.
In regards to total value of the contracts awarded, the level of funding the BBC provides in relation to each Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) (as stated in the ITT) is £40,790 per LDR (non-London) and £43,190 per LDR (London) per annum with a 2% inflationary increase per annum in year 2 onwards. The breakdown of the 165 LDRs allocated across each contract area was stated in the tender documents.
| Supplier | Identifier | Award Value | Cross-References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baylis Community Media CiC | 14107804 | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| Brighton and Hove News Ltd | 09391520 | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| Caerphilly Media Ltd | 07604006 | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| DC Thomson & Co Ltd | - | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| Highland News & Media Ltd | - | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| Iliffe Media Group | 11729745 | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| National World Publishing Ltd | 11499982 | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| Newbury News & Media Ltd | - | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| Newsquest Media Group Ltd | 01676637 | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | FORMER MP Ms Anum Qaisar— Employment and earnings (former) |
| Radio Manx Ltd | - | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| Reach Shared Services Ltd | 03890737 | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | MP LINK |
| Shetland News Online Ltd | SC566561 | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| Social Spider CiC | - | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| Tindle Newspapers Ltd | 00798870 | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
| University of Northampton Enterprises Ltd | 03092244 | ~£32,500,000 estimated from lot values | - |
Government spending data: These suppliers have received £339,037 in 177 payments (over £25k) from Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Cumbria Constabulary, Police Scotland, Lancashire Constabulary, Gwent Police and 17 more public bodies (2017-01-27 to 2026-03-03).