The “hard-won” rights of journalists to access council meetings and information must not be eroded under plans to reform local government, the News Media Association has said.

The NMA has written to the Communities Department to request clarification on the Devolution Bill and calling for the access rights of press and public to be spelled out in the draft legislation.

The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill, which has had its second reading in the House of Lords, includes provisions for the election of mayors and the appointment of mayoral authorities.

The plans were announced by Chancellor George Osborne following the general election in a bid to give English cities greater powers over issues such as housing, transport and policing.

But the NMA said the bill makes “little mention” of whether access rights to meetings will be maintained in the new mayoral authorities.

It has called for the rights to tweet, film and blog from council meetings to continue.

The NMA has also called for assurances that the new authorities will under the same obligations as other councils to put public notices in local newspapers and to refrain from publishing competing council newspapers.

In its letter to the Communities Department, the NMA said: “These rights underpin democracy and ensure that local people are fully informed and included in the decision-making process.

“Decisions made by local authorities have a major impact on public services and people’s lives, and also involve the spending of substantial amounts of public money.

“It is therefore crucial that local authorities are transparent and can be held to account by the public.

“For this to happen, local newspapers need to be able to give the public a full account of what is happening at their town hall.

“That is why I am hoping you will be able to confirm that the orders made under this bill will not dilute any of the rights that the NMA and its members have campaigned for and secured over the years.

“The explanatory notes may say the aim is to create greater accountability, transparency and stronger democracy, but without sight of the orders or more detail on the face of the bill, we cannot be sure.”

The Department for Communities and Local Government had not responded to a request for a comment at the time of publication.