The Conservatives want to block Labour’s plans to fund ITV regional news with the public licence fee.

The political row over the provision of regional television news continues as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt promises to block government plans to use public money.

Hunt has pledged to block the government’s ITV regional news replacement scheme as it passes through parliament in the digital economy bill.

He has long opposed the independently funded news consortia (IFNC) policy – part of the June 2009 Digital Britain bill – which will use public money to run news provision pilots in Scotland, Wales and England.

However, their creation could be blocked because Conservative ministers’ consent is needed to usher the legislation through a crowded parliamentary schedule before the general election.

IFNCs were a commitment of the Digital Britain White Paper published on 16 June 2009. The Digital Economy Bill, introduced last November, contains clauses that create new powers for Ofcom to procure IFNCs from 2013.

Trial proposals from interested parties are currently being reviewed by an independent panel, with successful bidders to be announced on 25 March. The scheme will cost around £20m a year to run, with funding coming from the BBC licence fee.

“Let me be clear, we do not support these provisions in the digital economy bill and we do not support the pilot schemes,” said Hunt in a speech on 21 January.

“The contracts are not due to be signed until May [and] anyone looking to sign one should understand that we’ll do all we can to legally unpick them if David Cameron enters No 10. And if they haven’t been signed, we won’t be doing so.”

Hunt now wants the clause removed from the digital economy bill. Speaking to the Financial Times yesterday (10 February) he said: “This is a redline for us. We want this clause out of the bill.”

He wants to introduce a more market-led system for regional news provision, enabled by a total overhaul of media ownership laws.

Click here to read Jeremy Hunt’s speech.