The Stage

Salmond unveils commission to investigate future of Scottish broadcasting

Published Thursday 9 August 2007 at 18:40 by Matthew Hemley

Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond has launched a broadcasting commission tasked with looking into the future of the country’s creative industries.

The commission will be chaired by BBC Scotland’s former head of news and current affairs, Blair Jenkins.

Salmond said the commission would “define a strategic way forward for television production and broadcasting in Scotland”.

He made the announcement yesterday during a speech in which he called on Westminster to hand over control of television and radio in Scotland to the country’s parliament.

He said: “Broadcasting has a crucial and central role in our democracy, but also in obtaining the full cultural and economic benefits of our creative industries. That’s why my government supports the devolution of broadcasting powers to the Scottish Parliament.”

He added he would be holding meetings with the main UK broadcasters to see what can be done to reverse the ‘steep decline’ in network spending on production in Scotland.

He said: “I will be speaking to television networks about what they can do to ensure they’re getting the right talent and ideas from Scotland, so they can start investing the right amounts of money in Scottish drama and entertainment.”

He hit out at the BBC and ITV for claiming a “lack of talent and ideas in Scotland” had led to a reduction in spending.

Salmond also called for an increase in drama production from Scottish writers on BBC Radio Scotland.

He said: “I know the drama department at BBC Scotland produces many fine single plays and series for the BBC’s UK-wide radio networks, but I do believe Scottish audiences should get the chance to hear more Scottish drama on their own national service.”