Councils could be on a collision course with the Audit Commission over whether their newspapers are a threat to regional media firms. Confirming it was to review local authority involvement in local newspaper markets, the commission hinted it would focus on value for money. The decision to call in the spending watchdog follows publication of the Government's Digital Britain White Paper. It said council papers might be ‘against the public interest'. But local authorities will question how they can meet targets set by the commission on community cohesion and keeping the public informed. It also follows a probe by the Office of Fair Trading, which noted ‘the adverse impact on local newspapers of the increasing role of local authorities'. Audit Commission chief executive, Steve Bundred, said it would work out how the two sides could co-exist in the media marketplace. He said: ‘Local news and council information are both valuable resources… we will find out how they can co-exist in the fast-changing world of new media.' Ben Bradshaw, the new culture secretary, said: ‘We are asking the Audit Commission to examine the practice of local authorities spending quite a lot of council taxpayers' money putting out free newspapers and, in the process, swallowing up a lot of local advertising which might otherwise go to local papers.'