Memorandum by The Non-Subscribing Presbyterian
Church of Ireland
RESPONSE TO THE PAPER ON CHARTER REVIEW
The NSPCI welcomes the broadly-based nature
of the Government's consultations on Charter Review and the meetings
and research which have taken place in Northern Ireland as part
of this work. It is encouraged by the Green Paper's commitment
to the BBC's continuing role as a large-scale broadcaster focussed
exclusively on the public interest and its independence from political,
commercial and sectional considerations. We recognise the important
role played by the BBC at local level and its contribution to
the social, cultural and economic life of our region. It will
be essential to maintain the breadth and effectiveness of this
activity over the next Charter period and for the BBC to reflect
the diversity of life in Northern Ireland in both its local and
Network programming. We believe that our region should be more
fully reflected in the BBC's UK-wide television and radio schedules
and welcome assurances that the volume of such material will increase
considerably as part of the new Charter settlement. In all of
this, it will be important to maintain the distinctiveness and
quality of the BBC's output and for its activities to be clearly
aligned with the public purposes and characteristics outlined
in the Green Paper and also for the Corporation's performance
against these criteria to be monitored in a consistently rigorous,
robust and transparent manner.
Ensuring that the BBC fulfils its public purposes
and potential and developing its accountability to licence payers
will be key responsibilities for the BBC Trust. The latter's credibility
and effectiveness will depend on the skills and diversity of its
members and their understanding of the needs, circumstances and
characteristics of the BBC's audiences across the UK. In this
respect we believe that it will be critically important for the
next Charter to include provision for full and mandatory Northern
Ireland representation on the BBC Trust (consistent with arrangements
in place since 1952 for the appointment of a BBC National Governor
for Northern Ireland). We are concerned about the ambiguity of
the Green Paper's commitments in respect of nations' representation
on the BBC Trust and believe that this is a fundamental issue
for the new Charter. It will also be important to make adequate
provision for Accountability structures at more local level and
for the powers and responsibilities of the Broadcasting Council
to be enhanced, to include the development of its advisory role
in respect of BBC Network programming and other aspects of the
Corporation's work.
We agree with the Green Paper's statement that
the BBC should reflect all aspects of the UK's diversity in both
its mainstream and specialist programmes and welcome Government's
view that the BBC should "provide a range of programming
reflecting different religions" and that such output
should include acts of worship alongside current affairs, drama
and other programmes which explore issues of religion and ethics
from different perspectives and for a range of different audiences.
Maintaining the quality, volume and prominence of such output
and developing its appeal for a generalist audience should be
key priorities for the BBC over the coming period. We believe
that such output should adequately reflect the traditions, activities
and beliefs of smaller Christian denominations and faith communities
and that the BBC should be more pro-active in its engagement with
these communities as part of its work to respond to the diverse
and changing nature of local and wider UK society.
We note the increasing availability and use
of digital television and radio and believe that audiences in
Northern Ireland should have full and equitable access to BBC
services across the full range of existing/developing delivery
platforms and suggest that Government should give careful consideration
to the needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in the implementation
of its plans for digital switchover. We note that Northern Ireland
may be the last UK national region to become "fully digital"
and will wish to understand the criteria that will guide phasing
of this process and to seek assurances that local communities
will not be disadvantaged by the schedule for analogue switch-off.
In summary, we broadly welcome the Green Paper's
proposals for the future of the BBC and its emphasis on the need
for the BBC to remain "a cultural institution of real
size and scope" with clearly defined public purposes/characteristics
and a commitment to reflecting the diversity of the UK in its
structure, programme-making activity and output. We believe that
it will be important for new BBC Accountability arrangements to
safeguard and build upon the best elements of existing practice
and for this to include full Northern Ireland representation on
the BBC Trust (and all/any other UK-wide bodies established to
represent licence payers interests) and an enhanced role for the
local Broadcasting Council. Appointments to the latter should
be publicly advertised and independently audited, consistent with
OCPA guidelines and practice, and should seek to ensure that the
composition of the Council remains broadly reflective of Northern
Ireland society.
We look forward to receiving the Department's
views on these issues and hope that our concerns and recommendations
will inform its work in developing the White Paper and new Charter
document.
27 April 2005
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