BBC Scotland Annual Review 2006/2007 4
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BBC Scotland Annual Review 2006/2007 4 8 2 6 5 7 1 3 11 12 13 9 10 16 19 17 20 18 15 14 21 BBC Scotland Contents 1 8 15 2 16 36 Glenn Campbell John Beattie Sarah Cruickshank National Trustee’s overview Television New Media (Presenter, Politics) (Presenter, Sport) (Presenter, Dè a-nis?) 2 9 16 4 22 37 Jackie Bird Libby McArthur Paul Riley Audience Council Radio Technology (Presenter, News) (River City’s Gina) (Still Game’s Winston) 3 10 17 14 26 38 Rhona McLeod Claire Knight Greg Hemphill National Controller’s overview News and current affairs Children in Need (Presenter, Sport) (River City’s Iona) (Still Game’s Victor) 30 39 4 11 18 Gaelic Finance Pudsey Deirdre Davis Ford Kiernan (River City’s Eileen) (Still Game’s Jack) 34 40 BBC 5 12 19 BBC Scottish Symphony Getting in touch Richard Gordon Janice Forsyth Jonathan Watson Orchestra Annual 2006/07 Review Scotland (Presenter, Sport) (Presenter, Radio Scotland) (Only An Excuse?, Offside) 6 13 20 Dougie Vipond Robbie Shepherd Sanjeev Kohli (Presenter, Sport) (Presenter, Radio Scotland) (Still Game’s Navid) 7 14 21 Alison Walker Shona Morrison James Mackenzie (Presenter, Sport) (Presenter, Eòrpa) (Raven) 1 National Trustee’s Overview. The past twelve months have seen a radical change in the governance of the BBC, with the Governors disappearing after 80 years and being replaced, under the terms of the new Charter, by a Board of Trustees. I was privileged to be one of three priorities in April and will monitor Broadcasting Council and its successor former Governors to have survived progress in the months ahead. body have monitored the process this transformation. I am also delighted towards digital switchover, holding that the Audience Council Scotland, Looking back over the year to date, the meetings in Dumfries and Peebles during the successor body to the Broadcasting Council commended the high level of the year, while our members from the Council, is formally enshrined within public value delivered by BBC Scotland South of Scotland have kept in contact this new Charter, with clear recognition programmes and services, including with Digital UK. of its crucial role in seeking out and original and innovative programming on representing the views of licence topical matters and a wealth of output The Council made submissions on key fee payers across Scotland. portraying Scottish life and culture across Trust consultations on Purpose Remits, all media. The Council welcomed the Service Licences and the Public Value Test This has also been a year of transition especially strong performance by Radio (PVT) for iPlayer. Details of the Council’s for BBC Scotland, particularly with the Scotland during the year. The BBC responses are noted in the report which excitement of the delivery of the new provided comprehensive and engaging follows. The next submission expected is headquarters building at Pacific Quay in coverage in the run-up to the Scottish on the proposal for High Definition TV Glasgow, custom-built for the digital age elections in May 2007, and the political which is at present subject to a PVT. of ‘360 degree’ broadcasting. This building team demonstrated huge professionalism is the most up-to-date broadcasting in first explaining the electoral systems During its existence of over 50 years the centre not just within the BBC estate to be deployed and then handling the Broadcasting Council for Scotland made but across Europe. Having delivered PQ challenges posed by the unexpected a highly significant contribution to the on time and on budget, the challenge developments in the process of counting quality of public service broadcasting now for BBC Scotland is to deliver an the votes and reporting the overall result. in Scotland. On behalf of all those who ever-widening portfolio of programmes, have been privileged to serve as BBC including increased commissions across At the same time, the Council highlighted Governor for Scotland, I would like to the network. important issues to be addressed in the express very sincere appreciation to year ahead, ranging from news reporting those who gave of their time voluntarily Under the new Charter, the Audience in a devolved nation to achieving more to this end since the Council was Council has a key role in monitoring output from Scotland on the BBC established in 1953. They played a key role BBC activities, from the perspective of networks. Further challenges will include in the BBC’s achievement in the analogue the Scottish audience, and advising the how best to respond to demands for age. The Audience Council will work Trust on how the BBC is meeting its more regional news in Scotland and to ensure that the BBC matches this key public purposes. This has included consideration of proposals for a Gaelic achievement in the digital age, working comments on the draft Service Licences Digital Service. towards the Public Purposes set out and Purpose Remits, which will form the in the new Charter while still focussing overarching framework for the Trust’s The new system of governance for on the interests of licence fee payers assessment – and that of the Council the BBC has built on the strengths of across Scotland. – of public value for licence fee payers the old to produce a more robust and in the years ahead. The Council’s role transparently independent structure for also includes commenting on all major regulation of the BBC – in the interests investment proposals and/or changes of audiences across the UK. to Service Licences in the future. Already the Trust has faced and is facing The Council has completed the task tough decisions among them the launch of monitoring BBC Scotland’s progress of the iPlayer, the much regretted closure against the objectives set last year by the of BBC Jam while a fresh proposition is BBC Broadcasting Council, and subsequently prepared and assessed, the approval of Annual 2006/07 Review Scotland identified key priorities for the BBC as Freesat and the way forward on HDTV. a whole in Scotland for the year ahead. The remit of the Council has been The new arrangements have had a extended to cover all BBC services stimulating effect on the work of the provided for licence payers in Scotland, Council but also added significantly to rather than just the output of BBC the pressures on members. Council has Scotland Annual Review Annual 2006/07 Review Scotland Scotland; and this development is much engaged with audiences across Scotland welcomed. Council members made a from a focus group on iPlayer to meetings BBC Jeremy Peat presentation to the Trust on their new on news output in Inverness. Both the BBC National Trustee for Scotland 3 2 BBC coverage of the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow scored highly with audiences in Scotland From left to right: Douglas Chalmers, Eleanor Logan, Graham Houston, Mark Dames, Bill Matthews, Alan Macdonald, Jeremy Peat. Not pictured: Sir Neil McIntosh, Brian Menzies, Alex Miller, Rak Nandwani, Jim Walker The Audience Council at Pacific Quay, Glasgow John Beattie’s Sports Weekly on the road Audience Council Scotland Review of Council Business 2006/07 Audience Council Scotland is part of the The Council gathers the views of the to report on issues of importance to Broadcasting Council The Council received regular updates Audience Council Scotland new BBC Trust which replaced the BBC audience in Scotland, meets BBC Scotland audiences in their nation. on the Cultural Representation research Board of Governors in January 2007. senior management every month to discuss for Scotland undertaken on its behalf by BBC Scotland. A website for the new Audience Council The BBC Trust brings greater transparency various issues around its programming and BBC Scotland advisory committees During 2006 the Broadcasting Council From this, members noted the importance was constructed and went live on to how the BBC does its business and services, and reports to the BBC Trust on From January 2007 advisory committees for Scotland received regular reports of storytelling and comedy as cultural 1 January 2007. A Gaelic language version ensures that licence payers have a say in audience views and the performance of such as the Educational Broadcasting on the objectives it had set for BBC characteristics and examined, in some was prepared and went live in April 2007. setting the strategic direction of the BBC. BBC services in Scotland. Members also Council for Scotland, the Scottish Rural Scotland for 2006/07, covering a range depth, responses relating to programme Summaries of Council business are It oversees the delivery by the BBC of the discuss individual programmes and services, and Agricultural Advisory Committee, the of editorial issues including drama, output across a range of genres. Members available on the website. six Public Purposes set out in the new and can follow up issues from the audience Scottish Religious Advisory Committee political programmes and the reporting agreed that the remit had been both Royal Charter and Agreement. logs directly with BBC management. BBC and the Gaelic Advisory Committee of reserved and devolved matters. challenging and well handled and that At its first meeting on 12 January, the management joins Council meetings for became part of the BBC management further work was required to feed the new Council discussed its changed brief, The BBC Trust works on behalf of relevant sections only, so that unlike the advisory structure, and therefore do Other issues of concern included digital findings to BBC Scotland programme teams. and debated an engagement strategy licence fee payers, ensuring that the BBC Broadcasting Council, the Audience Council not report to the Audience Council. switchover (on which a presentation was suitable for its enhanced audience-facing provides high quality output and good meets for some of the time without the received from Digital UK), the BBC’s new In May 2006, members attended role.