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Can you understand the situation in Scotland? Radio Clyde was the first commercial station outwith London—I think that it started in 1970—and that created a whole generation of broadcasters and talent who probably would not otherwise have had that career and opportunity. For young people trying to get into broadcasting, radio was often used as a way in, but that will not happen in Scotland any more. It will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for someone to do that.

I am extremely interested in that, because that proves that there is a market. STV is doing that from an advertising point of view. The chief executive has said that it allows advertising throughout the day. Mornings on the radio are very good for advertisers, and they can be on television in the evening. However, that is not what we hear from local radio stations as they network more and more—they say that they cannot sustain that. That is the argument. Why would a major player such as STV say that it is doable when we get a completely different story from local stations? As the regulator, what have you done? You are part of the reason why we do not have Scottish voices on Scottish radio at the moment.

I have a couple, if that is okay.

Good morning. It will come as no shock to you that I welcome the £65 million for drama over the next three years, but why can we not have both? There is no way that you will replace a long-term serialised drama with six episodes of three shows. It will not be the same level of work or the same guarantee of work. We heard about that from members of the cast and technical staff. You will not create new technical staff and give writers and actors give their first opportunity. It just will not have the same effect.

Yes, television is changing, but we are not having this conversation about “EastEnders”, and its ratings have tanked over time. Why does it always seem to be that we in Scotland are the ones impacted? Why can we not have both? People will not be having this conversation at the BBC down in London.

“EastEnders” is not the monster that it was back in the day. It has the exact same challenges as a show such as “River City”. People watch it in different ways. You cannot necessarily judge a show on the live figures; there will be more watching on iPlayer and everything else.

Good morning. I want to ask about your radio remit. As I think you are aware, I have an interest in that. I am old fashioned—I still listen to the radio, and I believe in the Queen song “Radio Ga Ga”. The radio is always there to listen to.

One of my biggest concerns is that, since about 2018, there has been a systematic loss of the Scottish voice on radio in Scotland. In the guidelines on programming and sharing between the regions, there is a reduced requirement for local content, which has given some of the big broadcasters the opportunity to become very London-centric and network everything. The Media Act 2024 does not help Ofcom, because it effectively makes you even more toothless in that situation. How can Ofcom justify its role as a public service regulator when it has systematically allowed the collapse of local radio in Scotland through deregulation and consolidation? My question is: what is the point of Ofcom?

Yes—Global pulled out of Heart and Capital, and then a few years later it came back, had a meeting with me and said, “You were right, George, we lost our audience—it tanked.” However, the crux of my question is about the fact that broadcasters could effectively shut down local radio in Scotland tomorrow and Ofcom could not do anything about it. The broadcasters could just network.

Currently, the breakfast show on what was formerly Clyde 2 and is now called Greatest Hits Radio, is the only Scottish content. We get news all the time, but that is the only Scotland-based show, and it is based in Glasgow. Moray Firth Radio and Forth 2 have lost their breakfast shows, so we have lost the local voice throughout the country.

When you, as the regulator, had the power to do something, why did you not make any inroads to try to stop that? You just said that deregulation was happening. You should not have accepted that.

No, I agree with that and I said right at the start that I welcome the investment, but anywhere else in the UK the argument would simply be that you can have both and you can find a way to make that work. I find it difficult that we in Scotland seem to be the ones who have to make sacrifices, whereas elsewhere, the BBC is carrying on business as usual.

Twelve months is still a better deal than six episodes.

Can you tell me about one time where there has been enforcement in Scotland?

If we are looking at the Scottish context and looking for Scottish voices in the Scottish media, would it not empower you as a regulator if you reported to the Scottish Parliament on a Scottish context through the devolution of broadcasting?