Proposals to transfer broadcasting powers to Scotland have been set out in a paper published today by the Scottish Government. It is one of six papers, prepared by Ministers, proposing amendments to the Scotland Bill that aim to support Scotland’s economic recovery.
The broadcasting paper identifies priority areas:
- To have the right to establish public service broadcasting institutions
- To be involved in future licence fee setting arrangements
- To have responsibility for approving licensing decisions made by the UK Government for local television stations which will broadcast within Scotland
- To have the ability to intervene in local cross-media mergers that affect Scotland
- To have the power to add or remove events from the list of those that must be shown live on free-to-air television
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Broadcasting is of vital cultural importance to Scotland. It strengthens our democracy and makes a valuable contribution to our economy. However, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament have virtually no powers in relation to broadcasting.
“That must change. There is a clear need for greater accountability and responsibility for broadcasting in Scotland and it is agreed across the political spectrum that Scotland needs its own distinctive broadcasting space to reflect our society, our culture, our debates and decision-making.
“The Scotland Bill in its present form does contain provisions on broadcasting in relation to the BBC Trust and MG Alba [the Gaelic language channel]. While these are welcome, they do not go far enough. Our proposed amendments to the Scotland Bill will give Scotland a stronger voice on broadcasting. They will enable us to make progress establishing a Scottish Digital Network, which is a priority at Holyrood but an afterthought for the UK Government.
“We firmly believe that Holyrood should have the power to establish the Scottish Digital Network as a public service broadcaster - independent from government - with a focus on producing quality content. It should be publicly-funded, with the television licence fee the best possible source of funding - as recommended by the Scottish Digital Network Panel.
“We want to strengthen, not weaken, Scotland’s broadcasting sector which is why we are calling for the right to approve future licence fee settlements. This will ensure Scotland receives its fair share of the £315 million generated each year by licence fee payers north of the border.
“Scotland was short changed by the recent licence fee agreement. It was negotiated in secret and closed off a potential source of funding for the proposed Scottish Digital Network, while providing a top slicing of £95 million of support annually to the Welsh-language channel S4C from 2013. The equivalent spend on BBC ALBA is just £8 million per year.
“Scotland also needs a say on broadcasting decisions which could affect Scottish media companies. It is our view that these decisions require the formal involvement of the devolved nations. The Scottish Government has consistently been supportive of local television and believes the Scottish Digital Network is the best way to support local television services in Scotland.
“We also believe that it would be appropriate for devolved administrations to have the power to add or remove events to the list of those which must be shown on free-to-air television for their nations. In Scotland, this might mean granting protected status to qualifying matches for major international tournaments played by the Scottish men’s national football team.
“It is clear that current broadcasting arrangements are not meeting the needs of devolution in Scotland. We are proposing sensible and proportionate changes to the Scotland Bill which will improve accountability and responsibility for broadcasting in Scotland, to the benefit of all.”
(Source: Scottish Government)
on Jun 30th, 2011 at 07:25
These demands are in line with the SNP push towards independence for Scotland. Since Tam Dalyell wrote his seminal work ‘Devolution: The End of Britain?’ in 1977, what seemed to some to be a joke, and to Dalyell the end result of a process that he did not wish to see, the United Kingdom which was born out of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, is well on its way to falling apart. After breaking away from the Britain in 1776, the USA reformed itself in 1789 around a written Constitution, which is something that the UK still lacks. Many seem to think that ‘British’ means ‘English’ and English history, but that is part of the myth-making that allows the Parliament in Westminster to claim a link to Magna Carta of 1215 - which has nothing to do with Scotland. It is interesting to note that most of the core ideas of the USA came from Scotland, and not England, and that even John Reith who shaped the BBC was Scottish. But fiscally, Scotland has always been treated as though it was a district within England, a very poor district. The BBC represents the sound and vision of England, and therefore it is time to end the charade and create a separate broadcasting structure for Scotland, under Scottish law made by the Scottish Parliament. At some point in time when full independence becomes possible it will then be necessary to create a written Constitution in the name of The People of Scotland who will be able to represent their nation as the equal with England. In 1707 equality was the plan, but in 2011 it is not the reality. The fact is that the half-elected Parliament at Westminster, dominated by a secretive Privy Council reporting to a Crown institution in London has not accorded Scotland the equal respect that it has always deserved.
on Jun 30th, 2011 at 17:24
Mervyn, as a half-Scot I agree with you. But there other anomalies too. For example, why is the British Broadcasting Corporation active in Northern Ireland? Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. So the BBC is de facto the UKBC.
I agree that many people don’t even refer to the country by the correct name. Indeed, people saying ‘English’ when they mean British used to rile my Scottish relations. I actually wrote to the BBC to complain about a programme on the Falklands War that referred to ‘the English navy’. One of my Scottish relations was an officer in the Royal Marines, based in Arbroath, and he took part in some very risky operations in the Falklands. The BBC never replied to my letter.
But I remember seeing an even worse error on one of the network newscasts in America. It was report from the Principality of Wales and the caption read ‘Wales, England’.
on Jun 30th, 2011 at 17:53
Thanks Andy! Regarding the island of Ireland, it is part of the British Isles (which has nothing to do with politics but geography), just as the Isle of Man can be included in this cluster although it is not a part of the United Kingdom. As for Wales, England (lol), well, politically that is what it really is, since the UK only came into being in 1801 when Ireland was added to the England-Scotland joint venture, and their union only began in 1707. The UK is really a very ‘new’ nation and only a few years older than the USA. Poor old Wales never got its act together as a single nation and it was gobbled up by England centuries earlier. However, all of these ‘bits’ (including Celtic Cornwall) now have rumbles of independence. I am all for it breaking up and getting rid of the monarchy. Then the airwaves can be opened up to all comers which means that the people of Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and all of the neglected areas north of London in England, will at last have a voice. The BBC doesn’t even have a decent media site to match yours!!!!