See also : About BBC Wales for BBC Wales Board of Management's review of BBC Wales for the same period

BBC Audiences in Wales have their say

Janet Lewis-Jones, BBC National Trustee for Wales and Chair of the Audience Council said :

"During the past year, the Audience Council for Wales has continued to exercise its role as the voice of audiences in Wales and has made that voice clearly heard in the work of the Corporation's sovereign body, the BBC Trust."

"During 2008-09, it made representations to the BBC Trust on many significant issues.

• The Audience Council strongly welcomed the review commissioned by the BBC Trust on BBC Network News' reporting on matters in Wales including issues devolved to the National Assembly and it will continue to monitor Network coverage of news items from Wales.
• The Council continued to draw the Trust's attention to the problems of availability of DAB in Wales, especially the fact that Radio Cymru and Radio Wales are not available on DAB to half the population and about 70% of Welsh speakers are unable to receive BBC Radio Cymru on DAB
• The Council again emphasised the importance of ensuring that the UK sees and hears much more of modern Wales in BBC Network output and has commissioned its own research on portrayal from the University of Glamorgan, Screening the Nation: Wales and Landmark Television, which will be published later this year.
• The Council welcomed the Network Supply Review on TV production outside London and urged the Trust to hold the BBC to account on its commitment to produce a higher percentage of Network TV programmes in Wales
• The Council contributed its comments to the BBC Trust review of the BBC's services for younger audiences, hosting four outreach events with younger members of the audience in different parts of Wales to inform its response."

The Annual Review gives the Council's view of the performance of the BBC in Wales during 2008-09 - including radio and TV programme successes such as Coal House at War, and the significant successes of many BBC Wales programmes on Network such as Doctor Who, Torchwood and Young Musician of the Year.

The Council also reviewed the BBC's Welsh language output broadcast on S4C. It concluded that the BBC fulfilled its Public Purpose obligations during the year under review (the duty to promote the six Public Purposes is placed upon the BBC by the Royal Charter). The Council also expressed its delight at the opening of the BBC Hoddinott Hall, the new home of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, in January of this year, considering it a major contribution to promoting the BBC Purpose of delivering cultural excellence.

In closing the National Trustee said :

"It gives me great pride to chair the Audience Council for Wales. I look back with admiration at the immense amount the Council has achieved during 2008-2009 and look forward to seeing further successes resulting from the Council's determination to ensure that the interests of audiences in Wales lie at the heart of all that the BBC does."

The Audience Council for Wales, established under the BBC Royal Charter, ensures that the views of viewers, listeners and service users are heard by the BBC Trust. During the year under review the Council met eleven times and hosted seven public meetings - in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Llanwnnen, Aberystwyth, two meetings (with different age groups) in Bangor and two also in Cardiff. It reflected the views of the BBC's audiences in its responses to a variety of consultations conducted by the BBC Trust.

As a document of record the Annual Review is not updated after publication.