Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) - 2025 Supplier Applications

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.