BBC PRODUCTIONS AND ENGLISH REGIONS

Early day motion 2095, tabled 17 July 2008 by John McDonnell (Labour). Signed by 28 members.

That this House notes that the BBC Charter and Network Supply Review contained commitment to move a significant amount of BBC production out of the area bounded by the M25 to the nations and English regions; further notes that the drama series Doctors, produced in Birmingham, may be forced to relocate to Salford, and that Casualty, produced in Bristol, may be forced to relocate to Cardiff; welcomes the subsequent increase in facilities in Salford and in Cardiff but is concerned that commitment should not be at the expense of other regions; believes that such a move would cause a loss of jobs of the highly skilled technicians based in those regions, and decrease the work opportunities for locally-based actors terminating training opportunities for people in those regions wishing to pursue a career in television including writers, technicians, and actors; further believes that this would damage the local economy in supply and training that links and interacts with these regional production facilities; and therefore calls on the BBC management to guarantee that the core commitment of the BBC Charter to move production from within the M25 area is met by relocating production from within this geographical zone and not by relocating production currently produced within the English regions.

Signatures by party: Labour 19, Liberal Democrat 5, Independent 2, Conservative 1, Independent Labour 1.