PROGRESS must be made on ensuring that Scotland is “fairly treated” by public service broadcasters and Ofcom, the Culture Secretary has said.
Speaking to The National on Thursday, Angus Robertson said the Scottish Government would be working with the BBC and Channel 4 to see progress on film and TV productions north of the Border.
In the draft Budget which was presented on Wednesday, Finance Secretary Shona Robison said the Scottish Government would “increase the culture budget by £34 million next year”.
Within that funding, £2m was allocated to Screen Scotland to support work on attracting large-scale productions to Scotland.
Robertson was asked if this fund was in part to mitigate Ofcom’s recent decision to allow Channel 4 to disproportionately focus its budget in England, and the BBC’s “Scotland quota” being primarily filled by firms headquartered in London.
He said: “There's not a direct link.
“The production growth fund that Screen Scotland operates is hugely effective in leveraging TV and film productions into Scotland. It is extremely effective, and I want them to be able to do more.”
Robertson went on: “There is a dialogue ongoing with public service broadcasters. Last week, I met with the chairman of the BBC, I met with the chief executive of Channel 4, and these items were discussed.
“I met also the chief executive of Ofcom, Melanie Dawes, and we talked about all of this.
“We need to make progress on both. We need Screen Scotland to have the funds at its disposal to make sure that productions from within Scotland and outwith are supported.
“And we also need to make sure that … public service broadcasters’ and Ofcom's role in making sure that the sector is fairly treated in Scotland is one that is understood.”
In October, media watchdog Ofcom sparked anger after annoucing a new 10-year public service broadcast licence for Channel 4, which required the broadcaster to spend just 12% of its budget outwith England by 2030.
If the out-of-England quota was to reflect population share across the UK, it would be 16%. Given that Channel 4 spent a reported £520m on original programming in 2023, the four-percentage-point gap represents around £21m.
And in November, a study commissioned by Screen Scotland found that only five of the top 15 “Scottish” producers for the BBC (by hours commissioned) were headquartered in Scotland.
The remaining 10 were headquartered in London, with their output qualifying under the BBC’s Scottish quota due to an Ofcom criterion of having a "substantive base" north of the Border.
He added: “We will be working with the BBC, with Channel 4 and with Ofcom to make sure that that happens.”
The BBC has previously defended its Scottish quota, saying it commissions “fairly, following the Ofcom guidance”.
“Our commissioning strategy has been a major driver of the development of the television production sector in Scotland,” a BBC spokesperson said.
Alex Mahon, Channel 4’s chief executive, also defended her channel’s out-of-England quota not reflecting population share, saying it “strikes the right balance between the commercial flexibility we need as a business and fulfilling our goal to support sustainable production growth across the nations”.
