Examination of Witnesses (Questions 415
- 419)
TUESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2005
Ms Helen France, Sir Howard Bernstein and Mr John
Willis
Q415 Chairman:
Thank you very much for coming. I will not ask you to introduce
yourselves because we know from previous meetings who you are.
Let me just say this about the Committee: we have already made
one substantial report on the future of the BBC, but we were conscious
of the fact that there were a number of areas which we did not
have time, given the time constraints that were placed upon us,
to do justice to, so we are looking in detail at a number of other
areas, one of which is of course, if I can put it this way, regional
broadcasting or, to put it another way, how much broadcasting
should take place outside London, and obviously Manchester is
the crucial place to come to at this moment. We have heard a lot
about the move to Manchester. Perhaps from your different points
of view, from the North West Development Agency and from both
Manchester and Salford City Councils, you could just begin by
saying what you see as the advantages of this move and whether
there are any disadvantages to it. Helen France, would you like
to start?
Ms France: Yes, I am very happy to start with
that. From our perspective, one of the reasons that we have been
so heavily engaged with the BBC's proposed relocation is primarily
due to the economic benefits of the move it will bring. We have
already done a lot of work. As you know, our main remit is around
providing the sustainable economic development of the region and
we see the BBC move as being a significant catalyst to helping
us to do that. We believe the move will generate significant economic,
social and cultural advantages to the North West. We have commissioned,
in conjunction with Manchester City Council, a piece of work about
the economic impacts of the move. That has already shown us, at
a very early stage the significant economic benefits that we can
get. We can share that report with you so you can read the details
rather than me going through all of the figures now. We also believe
that it will enable us, as a region, to really develop a very
strong cluster around media—new media and traditional television
broadcasting. That the BBC's move will provide a real impetus
for a substantial growth of the production facilities. This is
very, very important for us and a key driver for the North West
economy. In terms of the disadvantages, I think obviously it is
very important for us that the scale of the BBC move is as currently
projected. We think that if it is scaled down then it will not
have the same catalystic benefit to the region. We also need to
ensure that we have got a genuinely economic and viable set of
proposals. Again, that is a potential disadvantage if we do not
get that right. We can come on to that later, if that is helpful.
Q416 Chairman:
Thank you. Sir Howard?
Sir Howard Bernstein: I think the starting point
for us is what sort of city we want to create, particularly in
the context of a new drive in national economic competitiveness.
I think the vocabulary of all parties over the past few years
has been the significance of city regions in trying to drive the
national economic capacity of the UK. In that context, over the
last few years what we have seen is a much greater focus particularly
on places like Manchester in a wider sense, not just the City
of Manchester, in focusing around those key value-added economic
sectors which are capable not only of achieving transformational
change but also at the same time improving national competitiveness.
That is borne out also by the view that while London is fundamentally
important it cannot be the only engine of national economic achievement.
Cultural and media-related industries have long been established
as a key growth in Manchester City region. We already account
for nine per cent of the UK's audiovisual workforce, the largest
workforce outside London and the South East. We already have Granada
ITV in place within the region, a very significant player responsible
for generating something like 4,500 jobs. We have the partnerships
in place within the region. Media Training North West has helped
to drive talent and technological and cultural innovation. We
have world-class universities to deliver the graduates who are
going to be so important to be able to access what we all describe
as higher value jobs. We also think Manchester is best placed
to meet the clear objectives of the BBC about how it positions
itself as an organisation over the next 10 years.
Q417 Chairman:
Have you any sort of estimate on the number—and it is envisaged
that 1,000 BBC jobs might come—of other jobs that will be
created?
Sir Howard Bernstein: The economic analysis
which Helen referred to, which as we said we can present to you,
shows something like 4,500 jobs being generated, both directly
and indirectly, within the wider region as a result of the BBC
relocation and clustering activity which we are determined to
gather around it, and something like 20 per cent of that total
will be captured immediately outside the city region. This underpins
the wider benefit to be captured in the Northwest as a result
of our strategy.
Q418 Chairman:
Is there anything on that scale that has been done in Manchester
in recent years?
Sir Howard Bernstein: Yes, thankfully. The wider
Manchester City region is synonymous with achievement over the
last five years, whereas 20 years ago it was associated with under-achievement.
The regeneration of the city centre has levered in something like
£4 billion of public and private investment and something
like 45,000 jobs have been created within the city region over
the last five years. And, indeed, we have set ourselves the target
over the next 10 years to significantly increase our GVA (gross
value added) and the BBC relocation itself will account for something
like 10 per cent of that growth target over the next 10 years.
Q419 Chairman:
But media is a crucial element of this?
Sir Howard Bernstein: Media is one of the six
or seven high-value sectors which differentiate, in our view,
the Manchester City region not only from other city regions in
the country but also other competitors throughout Continental
Europe.
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