A parliamentary investigation has concluded that Scottish newspapers should be given an opportunity to consolidate in order to secure the future of the industry, MediaWeek reported Tuesday.

The report said the Scottish newspaper industry had been forced into drastic restructuring by the financial climate and technological developments, "often at great cost to its dedicated and knowledgeable staff."

The House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee recommended the Scottish industry be given an opportunity to merge and integrate, "subject to the appropriate safeguards," to produce high quality, independent and profitable Scottish journalism.

The report also expressed MP concern over councils advertising solely on their own Web sites, leaving portions of the population without access to public notices and public sector appointments and job availability. The report found this was crucially pertinent to Scotland, as broadband Internet access was low in parts of the country.

The committee also questioned the benefits of redundancies as cost cutting measures, sighting correlations between job cuts and drops in reporting quality, advertising revenue and circulation. The report was also critical of the stress levels associated with the press industry.