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The BBC should make it easier for audiences in Scotland to access BBC services, according to the BBC Audience Council for Scotland. In its Annual Review for 2009-10, published today (Monday 5 July), the Council said many licence payers in Scotland can only receive some of what the BBC offers.

The Council says the Trust should ask the BBC to prepare a plan to achieve universal access to BBC services in Scotland, bringing forward solutions to individual problems where possible, and developing an overall strategic approach for the longer term.

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.

Reviewing BBC programming from the perspective of audiences in Scotland, Council Chairman and BBC Trustee for Scotland, Jeremy Peat, said the last 12 months had seen "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".

He said the BBC had "worked hard to deliver the public purposes on all media" with "significant progress this year in some areas".

A season on BBC Four had been a "UK-wide showcase for high-quality programming on Scottish themes". Coverage of the General Election campaign had been "innovative and stimulating".

However, "members believe that, in due course, there should be an assessment of how well the arrangements for the debates had helped the BBC to deliver its public purposes for audiences in Scotland".

The Council welcomed a significant increase in production of network television from Scotland during the year, including the transfer of major strands like The Review Show and The Weakest Link.

The Council remains of the view that "while the amount of BBC television made in Scotland increases, the proportion of it which is recognisably Scottish should do so also".

The Council has also advised the Trust to ask the BBC to focus on developing a robust long-term strategy for television drama for audiences in Scotland. Mr Peat said such a move "would benefit licence payers in Scotland by increasing production, stimulating creativity and broadening the range of drama portraying Scotland."

The Council notes progress on the issue of overall news provision for audiences in Scotland, which had been raised with the Trust.

Among reports to the Trust on a wide range of issues, the Council has given its views on BBC Alba, currently under review by the Trust. The Executive has proposed removing BBC network radio from Freeview for part of the time in Scotland, to make room for BBC Alba.

The Council says it believes this would represent a net increase in public value, but that the BBC should urgently address the needs of radio listeners in Scotland and bring forward a plan to ensure that radio listeners in Scotland can access all BBC services via at least one distribution platform.

RT