The BBC Audience Councils advise the BBC Trust on how well the BBC is delivering its public purposes and serving licence fee payers across the United Kingdom. The four Councils – serving Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales – are supported by the Trust to provide an independent assessment of audience expectations and issues.

During the year members engaged with the issues that matter to licence payers in Scotland, from new ideas for distributing BBC content and reviews of key BBC services, to how Scotland is portrayed on the networks.

Many of the issues related to distribution, as broadcast technology on all media continued to develop. As television, broadband and radio platforms evolve, it is not clear how BBC content should best be distributed to ensure licence fee payers have access to it all. The Audience Council for Scotland welcomed the BBC's Project ‘Canvas’ proposal for internet television, and made comprehensive responses to the government's Digital Britain report and the Trust's review of BBC ALBA from the perspective of audiences across Scotland.

There has been significant progress on a range of issues raised with the Trust, from network commissioning to overall news provision for audiences in Scotland and radio reception on the A9. Work continued on key long-term issues such as network news coverage of devolved issues, and the future of BBC ALBA.

BBC services have worked hard o deliver the Public Purposes on all media, and there was significant progress this year in some areas. Coverage of the general election campaign was innovative and stimulating, and a season on BBC Four provided a UK-wide showcase for high quality programming on Scottish themes.

Issues on access and portrayal, which are of concern to audiences across the UK, have been adopted by the Trust. In addition, the Council has asked that consideration be given to development of a robust, long-term strategy for television drama for audiences in Scotland.

Jeremy Peat
National Trustee for Scotland