6 October 2011 Last updated at 08:03 ET

BBC Wales to cut 100 jobs in £10.7m five-year savings

Director Rhodri Talfan Davies pledged BBC Wales' continuing investment in political coverage and current affairs

BBC Wales has announced plans to save £10.7m over a five year period.

As part of 16% cuts in Wales about 100 jobs, mainly in support areas, will be lost.

Some programmes broadcast outside peak hours will disappear, but there is a pledge to protect programmes "vital" to BBC Wales' national role.

BBC Wales pledged to maintain investment in political coverage, current affairs and to strengthen flagship radio news programmes.

It said it needed to deliver savings of 16% in Wales - or £10.7m - by 2016/17.

Across the corporation, there will be 20% cutbacks.

Coverage of live sports other than rugby and football are set to be cut to meet the spending targets.

Announcing the changes to BBC Wales' 1,200 staff on Thursday, director Rhodri Talfan Davies said: "We need to live within our means

"We have a licence fee now that is frozen until 2016/7, we have a range of new funding commitments including the World Service and S4C, so the BBC has been tasked with delivering a 20% saving in order to fund those commitments but also to provide money to reinvest in new things like digital innovation.

REVIEW KEY POINTS

• No cuts in daily news services
• Appointment of economics and culture correspondents in news, and an additional reporter for the south Wales valleys
• New weekly flagship programme in 2012 with a wider Welsh public life agenda, to replace Dragon's Eye and be produced independently
• Week In Week Out budget ring-fenced
• Increased coverage of politics in daily output but end to Wednesday afternoon am:pm broadcast and review of live afternoon coverage of the spring party conferences
• Reduce number of off-peak programmes on Radio Wales and Radio Cymru
• Reduce by 25% investment in long-form documentary and feature programming on Radio Wales and Radio Cymru
• Increase investment in peaktime radio, including team to deliver high impact journalism for flagship news programmes Post Cyntaf and Good Morning Wales
• Comprehensive coverage of major sporting and cultural events will be maintained, including National Eisteddfod, Royal Welsh Show and live domestic rugby
• Aim to broadcast more landmark documentaries and drama in peak time on BBC One Wales
• Reduce the volume of BBC 2 Wales output, particularly outside peak
• Launch BBC One Wales in HD in 2012 across all platforms
• Focus sports rights investment on events having greatest value and impact for audiences, including live TV coverage of domestic and international rugby, and, where possible, coverage of international football
• Work with BBC network teams and S4C to identify opportunities for co-commissions
• Source: BBC Wales

"So, clearly, there are going to be areas where we have to cut back.

Dragon's Eye

"But what we have tried to do is protect those areas that we think are vital that is BBC Wales' national role."

He said most of the job losses would come in the next two years.

Mr Talfan Davies pledged to maintain investment in political coverage, in current affairs programmes like Week in Week Out, and to strengthen BBC Wales' flagship radio news programmes, Good Morning Wales and Post Cyntaf.

"All these programmes are vital in terms of the role we play in national life," he said.

Weekly politics programme Dragon's Eye is to be replaced by an independently-made programme and live coverage of the Welsh assembly will be confined to First Minister's Questions.

The number of opt-out programmes broadcast on BBC2 Wales is set to decline.

Cost-cutting exercise

Mr Talfan Davies said BBC Wales would provide "richer" news coverage, and said two new posts - for an economics and a culture correspondent - would be created.

About 2,000 jobs around the BBC as a whole are expected to go by 2016.

In Wales, about 120 are going but 20 are being created.

The job cuts are being across radio and in news, but most - up to 57 - are to be lost in support areas.

The cost-cutting exercise across the corporation is expected to lead to savings of £670m a year by 2016/17.

The review, named Delivering Quality First, was set up following the decision by the UK government to freeze the BBC licence fee for six years.

BBC director general Mark Thompson said: "It's a plan for a smaller BBC, but a BBC which uses its resources more effectively."

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Estimate of likely BBC Wales job losses
Source: BBC Wales
	Posts closed	Posts created	Net reduction
Radio Wales	15	5-7	8-10
Radio Cymru	12	3-5	7-9
Production unit	15	-	15
News	20-24	10-12	8-14
Interactive	2	-	2
Production sub-total	64-68	18-24	40-50
Support areas	46-57	-	46-57
BBC Wales total	110-125	18-24	86-107