Wantage MP Ed Vaizey has defended Government plans to remove the need for councils to advertise traffic orders in local papers.

But he said there was “a balance to be struck” between achieving value for money for taxpayers and supporting local media.

The parliamentary under-secretary of state for culture, Olympics, media and sport was responding to accusations during a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday that the plan could “undermine the financial viability” of the local press.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is consulting on plans to remove the mandatory need for councils to advertise road closures in local newspapers.

Mr Vaizey said: “Local councils spend about £20 million a year on advertising traffic regulation orders in local newspapers.

“Saving money by reducing advertising costs would be good.”

But he said there was “clearly a balance to be struck in achieving value for money for the council taxpayer”, adding that the DfT recognised through consultation “the importance of statutory notices to a free and thriving local press”. He said: “Local newspapers play a vital role in supporting local democracy.

“All of us know and love our local newspapers, no matter how badly they behave towards us – we recognise their constitutional importance.”

He said the department had already received 100 letters from MPs during the consultation process.

During the debate, Oxford East MP Andrew Smith said he feared the financial pressure facing local media could lead to investigative journalism being “hollowed out and lost”. He added: “Happily, that is not yet the case for the Oxford Mail and [sister title] the Oxford Times and the family of papers that serves my constituency and that of the Minister to an excellent standard.”

Prime Minister and Witney MP David Cameron told the Oxford Mail in May that local newspapers were “hugely important to our country”.

He said they “strengthen our democracy, holding the powerful to account” and provide a fill the “massive gap” between the state and the individual.

The DfT hopes the changes give local authorities “the freedom to publicise changes to those affected in ways they think reach them best”. It said councils could advertise on local websites, display notices or distribute leaflets in the affected area or continue to advertise in local newspapers.

The consultation ends on April 23 and can be viewed at tinyurl.com/6nm4mal