Hansard

It is a pleasure to be here, before the Scottish Parliament’s committee with responsibility for culture, and I am delighted to have alongside me the BBC’s chief financial officer, Alan Dickson, and the head of commissioning for BBC Scotland, Louise Thornton. The year under review in the BBC’s annual report and accounts, as laid before the Scottish Parliament, runs from April 2022 to March 2023. That period included the death of Her Majesty the Queen at Balmoral, when BBC Scotland’s teams were central to the coverage of events for our audiences at home and around the world. During the time under review, we delivered high-impact content, including the powerful drama “Mayflies” and the creative documentary account of Brandon Lee’s story in “My Old School”, both of which went on to win awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. We invested in content from across Scotland, including the drama series “Granite Harbour”, which was based in the north-east, and “An Clò Mòr”, a Gaelic-language family drama set in the Harris tweed industry, series 2 of which started this week on BBC Alba. I would like to mention a few highlights that are beyond the scope of the time period covered by this annual report but that may be covered in our next annual report and accounts. The BBC’s “Across the UK” strategy has seen an increase in network commissions and co-commissions, through Louise Thornton, including “Shetland”, with the successful introduction of a new lead; “Vigil”; and “The Traitors”, which was the biggest new series for young audiences across all BBC titles last year—as you know, its second series is currently on air. Radio 1’s “Big Weekend” came from Dundee in May. According to Dundee City Council, its estimated economic impact on the local economy was £3.7 million, which does not include the BBC spend or employment at the event. Audiences in Scotland responded very positively both in person at the event and through listening and viewing, as we know from iPlayer figures. Other key moments included the hosting of the UCI cycling world championships in August, which was one of the biggest events that Scotland has ever staged. BBC Scotland was the media hub for global coverage. Our news teams produced live online coverage for all BBC outlets when we were hit by storm Babet, in October. Since then, of course, there have been several storms. It also feels appropriate to note the regeneration of one Scottish Dr Who into another Scottish Dr Who in what was the 60th anniversary year of the world’s longest-running science fiction show. Throughout 2023, we celebrated the centenary of the BBC in Scotland: last March, we marked 100 years since the first broadcast from Glasgow; we marked the first broadcast from Aberdeen; and, last December—showing our long-term commitment to the language—we marked the first broadcast in Gaelic. This year, we will celebrate the centenaries of BBC learning and education, as well as our first broadcasts from Edinburgh and Dundee. We know just how central our partnership with Screen Scotland is to growing the creative economy. That includes shared training and development initiatives and joint investment in content on titles such as “Guilt” and “Granite Harbour”. Screen Scotland’s recent assessment of the economic value of the screen sector in Scotland noted that the BBC’s content spend on TV production in Scotland represented fully three quarters of all public service broadcaster expenditure here during the year that was surveyed. However, there is no doubt that we are operating under tight financial conditions. Since 2010, the BBC’s income has reduced in real terms by more than 30 per cent, and, as every household and every business does, we face the inflationary pressures of rising costs. We share with members of the committee the common purpose of public service. For us, that means continuing to evolve and adapt our output, supporting the creative sector to make and deliver content in ways in which, and on platforms on which, our audience want to consume it. All of that is set against a competitive and changing media landscape. We know that the licence fee is a privilege. That unique funding model ensures that we create BBC Bitesize content that is bespoke to Scotland’s curriculum; Gaelic services for speakers and new learners; our all-important news, weather and travel information for Scotland; new dramas that are filmed here as part of Scotland’s vibrant creative sector; support and coverage of a wide range of music genres in Scotland; and broad coverage of Scottish sport, through which we can look forward to following Scottish athletes at the Paris Olympics and the men’s football team at the Euros this summer. We can share more with you, I hope. Louise Thornton, Alan Dickson and I look forward to discussing the annual report and accounts, and associated matters, with the committee this morning.