New jobs, old stumbling blocks
Report of the 16 January 2002 English Regions liaison meeting.
Union representatives met with Andy Griffie (Controller, English Regions), Colin Philpott (HRLP, North), Roy Roberts (HRLP, WM) and Liz Smith (HR) for a liaison meeting on 16 January 2002 at Pebble Mill, Birmingham.
Overview by Andy Griffee
Connecting England
The latest breakfast show was being launched in Peterborough making seven splits for local radio this year. There would be future splits next year following Andy's review, which was presently under way. Management was exploring ways of introducing more localness in television. Three new satellite newsgathering vehicles (SNGs) were on order for a summer delivery to Norwich, Nottingham and Newcastle. Manchester and Leeds should receive new SNGs later in the year.In television, the Hull project was moving forward and would become the twelfth daily television news service. Cathy Burnett (Output Editor, South) had been given a three months' project to examine the viability of expanding the sub opt from Oxford into a full programme. Andy expected to receive an interim report from Cathy after two months.
The Blackburn open centre and community bus had exceeded targets set by the Department of Education, which had contributed to the venture. A lot more people were getting into the building, many from the Asian community. Three new open centres would be situated at Sheffield, Stoke and Liverpool. Six more community busses would be commissioned.
Current Affairs
There was now a firm agreement with BBC1 for a 1930 slot on Mondays for two runs of ten programmes for the regional current affairs programmes formally scheduled on BBC2. Two pilots had run in Norwich and Leeds and there would be a third in London. A £1 million extra investment would be made in current affairs output to maintain the necessary standard of quality expected on BBC1. The move of current affairs programmes from BBC2 would bring a new regional dimension to BBC1. Regarding political programmes, a review was being undertaken to consider a move from BBC2 to BBC1.Anita Bhalla had been appointed as head of Political and Community Affairs and would coordinate the response to devolution in regional government; an expansion of outreach and community affairs.
Next month, English Regions would advertise for the post of Head of Sport - funded by the BBC's Director of Sport. English Regions spent £3M per year on sports rights.
Satellite transmissions
At the end of January, the five most populous regions would launch on DSat. It would involve an interactive process from the start of the 1800 news bulletin. Viewers would be able to choose which regional programme they wanted to watch. The other six regions should be on DSat by September-October 2002. Eventually, other bulletins and current affairs would also be on satellite.Buildings and technology
£40M had been earmarked for the English Regions next year. There would be moves and improvements of a whole range of buildings - Norwich, Brighton, Stoke, Hull, Leeds, Birmingham: York and Cleveland would be refurbished.Twenty-two of the twenty-six stations were using Radioman. New server-based technology was in use in Marylebone High Street and Tunbridge Wells. This would influence decisions about Leeds, Norwich, Hull and Birmingham. "Omnibus" and "Leech" were being assessed against competing systems.
Themes for people
There would be more focus on creativity, unlocking people's excitement and encouraging risk-taking. There was landmark radio funding which regions could pitch for in a similar way to local television.Diversity
The Arts Council had agreed to joint fund four people as arts' researchers last year. This year, there were joint funds available to fund a researcher in every region.A management monitoring exercise for seven staff from ethnic minorities will take place next year. The staff will shadow managers.
£150k central diversity funds have been allocated for outreach schemes initiatives in the regions.
Hull project - report by Colin Philpott (HRLP, North)
This was a pan-BBC initiative trialing a variety of BBC interests:- more localised TV
- broadband interactive service in conjunction with Kingston Communications
- education partnership
- new building
- BBC zone
Colin told the meeting that new, multiskilled journalistic jobs would be available in the newsroom doing graphics and production in addition to journalistic work, when the move took place.
In response, the unions said they would consult with their members but reminded management that meetings on the multiskilling agreement had still to take place.
Mailbox move
Roy Roberts (HRLP, West Midlands and Project Manager) gave a presentation outlining the current position on the move from Pebble Mill to the Mailbox. Construction work would begin (subject to financial approval by the Board of Governors) in March 2002. This would be followed by the technical installation commencing in early 2003. There would be a phased removal of activities in the summer/autumn of 2003. A security risk assessment had been evaluated and carried out and included measures which had been adopted into the design of the construction work.Roy explained that the process of costing the planned work had resulted in some cuts having to be made. A staff canteen would not be built but two cafés, providing a variety of delicious, mouthwatering, hot and cold snacks would. These would have a capacity for 70 to 80 staff. The BBC Club had yet to decide whether to relocate. Roy had an open mind about the possibility of a joint venture with one of the cafés or an outside organisation or the Club remaining at Pebble Mill while the lease allowed.
The parents' group had been consulted about crèche facilities and had asked that the present facility at Pebble Mill remain in use for as long as possible.
Car parking was being addressed but there would only be 100 spaces at the mailbox (compared with 378 at Pebble Mill). Priority would be given to the disabled and to those with an operational need. There would be an interim park and ride service from Pebble Mill but Roy's team would continue to examine other possibilities.