A move to make Scotland a world-class centre of communication and creativity begins this autumn, writes William Peakin

Members of the Scottish broadcasting Commission meet for the first time later this month. It will be an auspicious occasion; not simply because like so many of the current SNP-inspired initiatives it may be viewed as another measured challenge to the Union or because it will consider the totemic issue of a ‘Scottish six’, a home-grown evening television news programme, but because it will be the first in-depth examination of the industry, one that has suffered a serious decline.

Perhaps it is because it has been regarded as one of the ‘soft’ industries, populated by well-paid luvvies, that its descent has not been as widely lamented compared with other enterprises. Ironically, the media – print and broadcast – tends not to be especially animated in the coverage of its own travails. But the economic cost to Scotland has been significant and the cultural impact tangible; money and talent have simply drained out of the country.

During his speech, ‘The case for devolution of broadcasting powers’, at the National museum of Scotland in August, Alex Salmond noted how important the creative industries had become: “They now rival in terms of scale and growth even the financial services sector as a powerhouse industry, a major employer and a huge generator of wealth, one of the keys to the future prosperity of all economies.”

That’s why, for all the turf wars and political point-scoring that a Scottish six may represent, it is likely that the Commissioners will consider a mere 30-minute news bulletin to be the least of their concerns. Having its own news at six may indeed say something about a nation, but the substance of the Commission’s investigation is likely to lie first in the economic and cultural imperatives. Once those have been tackled, then the democratic imperative - a more representative prism through which world, UK and Scottish current affairs is viewed - may then be one logical result.

The Commission has been asked to report sometime in 2008, though it may set itself an unofficial target to deliver over the summer. It will have to balance the sense of urgency to come up with solid proposals with the complexity of the task; it will not want to throw away the opportunity to provide answers to some of the questions that have been troubling Scottish broadcasting for the past 20 years.

One of its key starting points will be the precipitous fall in the amount of programming commissioned from Scotland. Scottish Television’s retreat from production has been a major factor, not only a loss to viewers but to the ecosystem of writers and performers based in Scotland. The fall in network commissioning, both by BBC and the commercial channels, has exacerbated the problem. A few years ago, the BBC had increased its proportion to around 6 per cent, but this has fallen back to about 3.5 per cent. As production decreases, talent, expertise and business moves to where there is work, creating a vicious circle.

Interestingly, in between Salmond announcing the Commission this summer and it starting work, mark Thompson, director-general of the BBC, announced an increase in Scottish programming when he opened the bib’s new Scottish headquarters at Pacific Quay in Glasgow. Thompson said it would rise to 9 per cent a year. There has been a policy in the BBC that 17 per cent of programming should come from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, but the target was aspirational and editors had discretion to vary the amount between the three nations. Thompson appeared to commit the BBC to at least a near three-fold increase in programmes from Scotland by 2012. Indeed, he said: “I regard that as a floor rather than any kind of ceiling,” mirroring the First minister’s words the previous month when he launched his case for the devolution of broadcasting powers.

That would represent a £40 million annual boost to the industry, which could conservatively expect to generate another £10 million from the commercial sector because of the halo effect of the BBC's spend. That, say experts, would be transformational, not just for television production but for the other creative industries, such as theatre, which depends on writing and acting talent staying in Scotland. One of the challenges for the commission will be to suggest how the sector can best harness this increased spend, ensuring that the right kind of talent and the right kind of businesses exist and can thrive in Scotland.

Among other issues that the Commission will examine is the definition of Scottish programming; there is a view that some output deemed to be so, actually has had little real connection with the country during its making. While it’s agreed that the definition should not be overly restrictive, one model, well-known in the industry is, ‘out of London’, which defines the source of programming using a criterion that covers where the production company is based, where the money is spent and where the staff employed in the making of the programme are based.

The case for a more equitable spend is clear cut when it is public money at stake, but perhaps less so for the commercial channels. Channel 4, though, still has agreed obligations to public service broadcasting (PSB). However, Michael Grade, executive Chairman of ITV, has made it clear that he wants that regime to be relaxed as it applies to his channel: “What’s not needed is any kind of genre prescription . . . regulation that says you have to do this type of programme,” he told the Royal Television Society last month. The only requirement should be to invest in British programming: “I want the freedom to invest in my way in the market,” he said.

While the Scottish broadcasting Commission will have less leverage with the commercial sector, it may find an ally in the regulator Ofcom, which is likely to have a very different view to Grade’s. Last month, Ofcom launched its second public service television broadcasting review [see ‘Thinking outside the box’] last month to “examine the extent to which the public purposes of PSB are being met and assess options for maintaining and strengthening the quality of PSB in future.”

Vicki Nash, director of Ofcom Scotland, said that the review had been brought forward because of the rapidly changing communications landscape: “We shouldn’t be under any illusion about the impact these changes will have – we can’t continue with the old model.” Nash said that while Ofcom’s role as the regulator for television in the UK was clear, it would be happy to submit to the Commission and to make available its knowledge and expertise. While broadcasting was a reserved issue, she said Ofcom is keen to encourage a vibrant industry in Scotland because of its public service contribution to regional programming and the promotion of other issues such as media literacy.

The revolution in broadcasting, through digital channels and the internet and the use of different programming models and broadcast platforms, makes the Commission’s consideration of the industry in Scotland doubly challenging. Without doubt, content makers will now need to compete globally in all the different spheres for Scotland to have a viable creative sector, but success will still depend on the quality of the content coming from the traditional disciplines of writing and performing.

Blair Jenkins, who will chair the commission, returns for the first meeting refreshed from a holiday in America: “I believe Scotland has the creative talent to produce world-class content for worldwide audiences,” he said last week. “We need to create the conditions to make that happen.

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