New Nations and Regions jobs

300 new jobs and no redundancies were reported at the Nations and Regions liason meeting.

Pat Loughrey and senior manager from the Nations and Regions met with union representatives on 19 October 2001 for a directorate liaison meeting.

Pat's presentation

New visions for Nations and Regions

The BBC needed to forge closer relations with local audiences through:
  • new drama and entertainment
  • digital "zones" on BBC2
  • increased network output across more genres
In the English regions there would be:
  • more localness in regional TV and local radio
  • new open centres and mobile zones
  • a new raft of "where you live" local online sites
  • regional news on digital satellite
  • a switch to BBC1 for regional current affairs
  • a special emphasis on the north of England
  • project Hull

New jobs

  • Scotland 100
  • Wales 50
  • Northern Ireland 36
  • English Regions 150-200
There were no plans for redundancies, enforced or otherwise.

Pat used the example of the Rosenblum Initiative as a new production technique, to illustrate the need to liberate creativity and encourage innovation and risk taking: the BBC was willing to take big risks. However, he did not see a future where high level skills were watered down.

Diversity was being increasingly valued. Health and safety would be the guiding light for all change. Nations and Regions would have a partnership based on openness, honesty, trust and tolerance. This was the key to achieving change.

Commenting on the move of regional current affairs programmes to BBC1, Pat said that some evenings there would be three or four stories but there could be just one if it was strong enough.

Multiskilling

Pat believed there should be different agreements in the Nations and English Regions. They could even be different in individual business units. Multiskilling was a device to liberate the creativity of individuals. The BBC owed its market leadership to the level of skills it had and it was not going to walk away from that.

There were core principals agreed with the Trade Unions, which would be disastrous if they broke down. He believed problems could be solved locally. The future would be as liberating and invigorating for BECTU members.

27 October 2001