The importance of local radio to the community, both in times of crisis or seasonal emergencies, and on a daily basis, must not be ignored warns the Church of England in a submission to the consultation on the BBC Delivering Quality First Review, which closed this week.
Local radio plays a vital role in the community, along with the Church and particularly in rural and more remote areas, but appears to be undervalued in the proposed cuts which could have serious repercussions, says the submission.
The response, drawn up by the Rt Revd Graham James, Bishop of Norwich and lead bishop on media issues, is based on input from the Church of England’s 44 dioceses. Almost half contributed with particularly strong feelings about the cuts.
It says there is a widespread feeling that the elements of the current BBC output which have been protected from the proposed cuts are those most focussed on metropolitan areas and the South East of England. This feeling increases in the more remote and rural areas, e.g. Herefordshire and Cumbria where local radio, particularly, is considered vital to community life.
The submission also expressed concern for the welfare of staff – up to 33 per cent staffing cuts are predicted in some areas.
One example of concern highlighted in the submission is the detailed letter from the West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council (which is signed by the Bishops of Bradford, Ripon & Leeds, and Wakefield) to the Director General of the BBC about BBC Radio Leeds and the future of local radio more generally. This says the submission, “gave many examples of the community building character of local radio. It has a considerable impact helping diverse communities cohere through the general animation and support it provides for the voluntary and charitable sectors.”
The response also makes the point that “there are at least 40 per cent fewer journalists on local newspapers than there were a decade ago, and the overall democratic deficit is growing and worrying. So the cuts to local radio should be seen in this wider context. They do little either to deliver quality or enhance the public purposes of the BBC.”
The submission concludes: “We ask the BBC Trust to recognise local radio as one of the ‘Crown Jewels’ of the BBC. We do not argue that there should be no cuts in budget at all but we believe that the total protection from cuts given to BBC1, Radio 4 and the Proms is disproportionate in relation to what is proposed for BBC local radio.”