CTEEA/S5/21/C19/C006: BBC Scotland

Home , BBC One Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland, Greg Hemphill, Scot Squad, Susan Calman

CTEEA/S5/21/C19/C006

CULTURE, TOURISM, EUROPE AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

UPDATE ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON SCOTLAND’S CULTURE AND TOURISM SECTORS

SUBMISSION FROM BBC SCOTLAND

Summary

1. This short submission is a supplementary document to the one previously submitted by BBC Scotland to the Committee’s inquiry in May 2020. It details BBC Scotland’s continuing response to serving its audience during the pandemic, and the impact of the pandemic on public broadcasting operations.

2. Covid-19 continues to have a substantial effect on the BBC’s ability to produce programmes and services. The cancellation of key broadcasting events, ceasing of productions, and changes to schedules will continue to have an impact on what audiences see and hear from the BBC across the coming months.

3. In common with other organisations continuing to operate during this crisis, the BBC has faced operational challenges. At times, we have experienced reduced levels of staffing and a huge increase in demand for the BBC’s internal network as over 15,000 colleagues across the UK continue to work from home. For those whose roles cannot be performed at home, for example in certain on-site broadcast-critical functions, safety is paramount and we continue to follow Scottish and UK Government advice.

COVID-19 Impact on the BBC

4. The production of numerous programmes and services continues to be impacted. BBC Scotland welcomes the guidance issued by the Scottish and UK Governments which enables TV and film production to continue to operate with strict safety protocols, and production on a number of key titles has resumed. In Scotland, River City returned to filming in the autumn, and production is also underway on dramas such as Vigil and the second series of Guilt. River City has recently found a way within the guidelines to move from producing 30 minutes per week to 1 hour per week of content. Mrs Brown’s Boys successfully filmed its Christmas and New Year specials under the current production guidelines at BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay studios. Network production has also resumed, with EastEnders, Doctor Who and Call the Midwife all operating within strict new guidelines, but often with reduced amounts of content being made, due to the impact of following the new protocols.

CTEEA/S5/21/C19/C006

5. Inevitably, the temporary suspension of production last year will have a temporary impact on future published levels of spend of the Licence Fee in the UK’s nations, until the production landscape returns to nearer normal levels of activity. This will not necessarily be seen universally across each nation. Spend is included in the BBC’s accounts for the year in which a title is first shown on TV, not the year in which it is made. Some productions made pre-pandemic will “count” towards network spend during the current financial year. For example, His Dark Materials, made in Wales, was largely filmed prior to the pandemic, but was shown recently. Shetland, made in Scotland, would have filmed 2 series over the summer, but with filming completely suspended at that point, and postponed until summer 2021, that Scottish spend will not appear in the BBC’s accounts for some time to come.

6. BBC Scotland is also seeing some studio-based business postpone production by a number of months. Much of this is due to particular productions in which interactions with a studio audience are key to the format, particularly in some areas of children’s television. Audiences in Scotland have not been permitted in TV studios at any stage of the pandemic. This has not been universally the case across the UK, where in some areas the limited return of studio audiences has been permitted.

7. Covid-19 has continued to have an effect on big sporting, music and entertainment moments. BBC Scotland continues to work with partners around the nation to assess what levels of activity will be likely later in the year in order to plan coverage accordingly. Similarly, all previously planned activity from BBC Orchestras and Choirs has been impacted, with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra able to resume some operations with reduced numbers of musicians in order to continue to create new content for BBC Radio 3 and for BBC Scotland, including for Burns Night.

Operational Challenges

8. The BBC, like other organisations continuing to operate during the coronavirus crisis, has faced operational challenges with some staff self- isolating, others ill or with caring responsibilities, and most, where possible, working from home. The protection and safety of our staff remains of utmost importance and in line with Scottish Government advice on social distancing we continue to evolve the ways in which we operate whilst maintaining core coverage. In common with other employers across Scotland, we are also supporting staff during a second period of schools being closed, and have agreed flexible working arrangements with regards to hours, and where required, additional leave, in order to accommodate this.

CTEEA/S5/21/C19/C006

9. With the majority of the BBC’s staff continuing to work from home, the BBC has provided staff with the resources they need in order to work safely in their home environments.

10. For those whose roles require them to attend a BBC site, the BBC has made very clear, especially during this second nationwide lockdown in Scotland, that only people critical to broadcast or transmission, or who need to be on our sites to do their jobs, should be travelling to our locations. In addition to the existing production-specific protocols in place, there are general site-wide measures such as maintaining social distancing with appropriate signage to assist, regular hand washing and using the gels and wipes that are provided, alongside colleagues wearing face coverings in all communal spaces and when away from their desks or studios. BBC Scotland also has sunflower lanyards and face covering exemption cards to help support people who may be exempt from wearing a face-covering because of an underlying health condition.

11. In addition to these measures, in January 2021, the BBC has begun introducing lateral flow testing and social distancing proximity devices. The lateral flow Covid-19 tests will be available to anyone who needs to come into key BBC locations to do their job on a regular basis with testing carried out by colleagues in their own homes prior to travelling to a BBC base. Social distancing proximity devices, which sound an alert when colleagues are within two metres of each other, are also being introduced for those teams who would find them a helpful addition to all of the other production protocols. With these additional measures, the BBC hopes to add a further layer of protection to delivering its key services to audiences at a time when they need them the most.

Finance

12. As a result of coronavirus the BBC put in place plans to reduce spend by £125m as a response to projected COVID impact, as noted in BBC Scotland’s written and oral evidence to the Committee previously. While the BBC has the privilege of the licence fee, income has been impacted as it has become more difficult to collect the fee during lockdown periods, there was a delay to the implementation of the over 75s policy and commercial income has reduced. Going into the coronavirus crisis, the BBC already had 31% less to spend on UK public services than if the licence fee had risen with inflation since 2010. On top of that, the BBC now faces the estimated £125m of lost income this financial year due to the crisis.

13. The BBC took a number of steps including a pay freeze for all employees, postponing annual pay negotiations, implementing a recruitment freeze for

CTEEA/S5/21/C19/C006

non-critical roles and launching a voluntary redundancy window across all UK teams. BBC Scotland expects around 80 posts to have closed across our sites in Scotland as a result of the voluntary redundancy process by the end of the current financial year.

14. The BBC also notes the continuing financial impact on the wider production sector, including on the BBC’s supply chain. The BBC’s ongoing work with our partners, including Screen Scotland and MG ALBA, ensures that opportunities for the sector in Scotland continue to be developed even within the current production protocols.

BBC Response to the Covid-19 Outbreak

Changes to Programmes and Services

15. The BBC continues to repurpose our services and programmes for the benefit of all audiences, ensuring we keep the nation informed, educated and entertained in these unprecedented times.

Inform

16. The BBC further enhanced our core role to bring trusted news and information to audiences in Scotland, the UK and around the world in a fast-moving situation, and to counter confusion and misinformation.

17. Key news programmes on TV and radio including Good Morning Scotland, Reporting Scotland, The Nine, Aithris na Maidne and An La all serve to keep audiences up to date on the latest developments, advice and changes in regulations. A socially distanced version of Debate Night and Debate Night Extra has featured key discussions on aspects of the pandemic, alongside output such as Lunchtime Live and Drivetime.

18. As noted in BBC Scotland’s initial submission to the inquiry, BBC Radio Scotland evolved its schedule to provide additional live programming. Over the festive period, the schedule on Radio Scotland and Radio nan Gaidheal offered a range of content to enable greater connectedness amongst the audience during a Christmas and New Year period when meeting in person was not possible.

19. On BBC Sounds, the BBC produced a daily edition of the Coronavirus podcast, whilst Good Morning Scotland has produced further “Ask GMS” features, putting listener questions direct to subject matter experts across a range of topics related to the pandemic.

CTEEA/S5/21/C19/C006

20. Audiences continue to trust the public service broadcasters for pandemic- related information. Reality Check is the BBC’s principal fact-checking service which runs across all platforms including via social media. This service tackles fake news stories and challenges statements from public figures and institutions which may be false or misleading, and presents the verifiable facts instead. Research conducted by Ofcom during the lockdown shows almost half of UK adults have been exposed to false claims about the coronavirus.

Public Information

21. The BBC screens government briefings while there is a clear public interest in doing so, with Scottish Government briefings featuring on BBC One Scotland and the BBC Scotland channel; UK Government briefings on BBC One Scotland and the BBC News channel; and Welsh Government briefings on BBC One Wales. Parts of the briefings are also available across the BBC’s radio output in Scotland. In September, the BBC evolved its coverage of the Scottish Government briefings on BBC One Scotland, as opinions about policy decisions started to diverge, to ensure a range of political voices and health experts were further heard by viewers.

22. The first Public Information Film relating to Covid-19 was broadcast on 19th March 2020 on BBC One. Since then, a further 50 Public Information Films have been broadcast on behalf of the Scottish Government, alongside equivalent Public Information Films from the UK Government and the Welsh Government for audiences in England and Wales.

Educate

23. From Monday 11th January 2021, a raft of dedicated educational content for pupils in Scotland was once again introduced on the BBC Scotland channel, iPlayer and online to help plug any learning gaps caused by the enforced schools closure. As happened last spring during the first national lockdown, the BBC moved quickly to offer Bitesize learning content aimed specifically for pupils studying in Scotland - initially covering Maths, English, Science and Social subjects for primary and secondary pupils – followed by more additional new Bitesize online content on topics such as health and weather.

24. From 10am every weekday, the BBC Scotland channel offers a range of programmes for primary and secondary learners. Focussed on the Curriculum for Excellence and complementary to the Bitesize Daily offering on CBBC, there are programmes for primary pupils around numeracy, literacy and social subjects. Secondary learners will also be offered a range of content around

CTEEA/S5/21/C19/C006

maths, science and literacy while Authors Live will feature an archive of events for both Primary and Secondary audiences, with writers including Michael Rosen, Malorie Blackman and Steve Backshall reading aloud from their work.

25. The programmes, some made both before the pandemic and some over the last few months under strict Covid production regulations are also being made available through iPlayer for students to watch at their leisure. Learners throughout Scotland also will now have a newly created website accessed easily for both English and Gaelic content, www.bbc.co.uk/lockdownlearningscotland, with both existing and new additional educational content available online while BBC ALBA will also offer dedicated programmes for Gaelic pupils.

26. BBC Scotland is working with Education Scotland to ensure the content can also be shared via their extended networks. The dedicated Scottish content is part of the overall BBC plan to deliver the biggest education offer in its history across more of its platforms. It will bring together BBC Scotland, BBC ALBA, BBC Two, CBBC, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and online to deliver a new education offer to children, teachers and parents as a third lockdown begins.

27. Reacting quickly to the news of UK schools moving to remote learning, the new offer from the BBC will ensure all children can access curriculum-based learning even if they don’t have access to the internet.

28. Meanwhile, we recognise our ongoing role to support the major faiths through the challenges of these difficult times. BBC Scotland’s Religion and Ethics team has been working to offer a wealth of content for all audiences. The Reflections at the Quay series, a virtual church service on Sundays, was warmly received during the first lockdown period and has been recommissioned with a second series now running through to Easter. And The Service, showing fully filmed services from various faiths and denominations in Scotland, has also broadcast additional episodes during the past few months. Sunday morning radio output continues to also offer religious content to our audiences in Scotland on Radio Scotland, Radio nan Gaidheal and BBC Radio 4.

Entertain

29. The BBC has been keeping Scotland engaged and entertained with a range of content as the pandemic has continued. We have worked with the independent production sector to commission content capable both of being made within production guidelines and of reflecting the times in which we are living.

CTEEA/S5/21/C19/C006

30. During a difficult festive season when families could not meet, BBC Scotland commissioned original entertainment content including Socially Christmas with Susan Calman, Scot Squad: The Chief’s Festive Message and a special edition of hit Hogmanay format Only An Excuse which attracted over a million viewers in Scotland. Over the bells, Hogmanay 2020 ensured our audiences could celebrate the turn of the year in traditional style, even in lockdown, with Susan Calman, Deacon Blue, Amy MacDonald and Blazin’ Fiddles providing the entertainment, while Amy Irons brought in the midnight moment from Edinburgh and Stirling, with the largest live audience in a decade tuning in.

31. Scotland’s People - A Thank You saw Jackie Bird acknowledge the amazing achievements of the people of Scotland this past year, and present a few surprises to them. In Shelf Isolation, Damien Barr used Zoom technology to interview a range of celebrities from Allan Cummings to Greg Hemphill, about what they were watching, listening to and reading to help other through Lockdown; TRNSMT Takeover saw Edith Bowman curate an evening looking back at the last three festivals, on the weekend in which the 2020 event should have been taking place; and with Edinburgh - My Light Shines On, BBC Scotland screened the specially commissioned opening event for the virtual Edinburgh International Festival.

32. This month (January 2021), for Celtic Connections, all Radio Scotland music programmes will feature live sessions to complement this year’s online festival, and there will be two programmes produced for BBC Scotland, Celtic Connections at the Quay. Tying in with Celtic Connections, Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2021 still goes ahead, as the BBC stages the final in Pacific Quay for Radio Scotland and BBC ALBA, celebrating young traditional talent at this very difficult time.

33. Also in January, to celebrate Scotland’s national bard, we have recorded a celebratory concert for BBC Radio Scotland and the BBC Scotland channel with the BBC SSO and special guests including Karen Matheson and Eddi Reader.

34. Continuing the importance of classic comedy in entertaining viewers at home, BBC Scotland has relicensed hit series such as City Lights, and commissioned an original sketch show compilation showcasing the best of 27 years of Only An Excuse.

Looking ahead

35. BBC Arts Culture in Quarantine project continues. Scenes for Survival in partnership with National Theatre of Scotland produced over 50 short works

CTEEA/S5/21/C19/C006

across digital, iPlayer and TV amassing millions of views. In 2021 as the pandemic continues BBC Lights Up will produce 12 films of theatre shows for the UK including NTS’s award winning Adam, which will be shown on the BBC Scotland channel.

36. Following a pause in production BBC Scotland remounted hit comedy Scot Squad which transmits again from this month (January 2021). And aimed at a younger audience, BBC Scotland will launch a new comedy series Scary Adult Things, a fashion upcycling series Style Fixers and digital comedy pilots featuring female comedy talent soon.

37. BBC Scotland in partnership with other broadcasters and industry partners is preparing an industry event regarding diversity, and practical steps producers can take to improve representation in their teams.

38. BBC Scotland is also planning for coverage of events and landmarks in 2021 beyond the pandemic, including the Scottish Elections in May; the European Football Championships with such a key moment for the Scotland men’s team; the preparations of Scottish athletes as they work towards the Tokyo Olympics; and the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow in November.