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STV

The hon. Gentleman advances the argument that only STV has the scale to achieve the kind of programming status and quality that everybody wants, but surely, the existence of other very large independents must undermine the logic of that position in the first place. Let me make some more progress on other comments in the consultation. La Belle Allée Productions considered that there would be"““a real and significant danger of STV displacing commissions from other Scottish companies””." IWC Media believed that there is a ““significant risk”” that the proposal"““would damage the Scottish production sector, by removing work from the companies that need it most””." Matchlight said that the proposal would"““substantially harm other, smaller Scottish producers by displacing jobs and network productions from them in favour of STV and the overall effect will be a zero sum game for Scotland—no new jobs created, no new work attracted””." Tattiemoon also disputed that the reclassification would create any jobs. Its response said:"““To believe the claims that this change in status would result in the creation of more jobs for our industry would be a terrific mistake and one that we cannot afford to make. STV are aiming to adjust their position in order that they can have more control of our industry and compete in an incredibly unfair manner with other programme makers””." Doubt was also expressed about the overall cultural benefit to Scotland. Tattiemoon said:"““Here we have STV as a broadcaster breaking all the rules to become an independent for fiscal gains and not for the overall cultural well being of the nation””." Turmeric Media focused on funding, training and development opportunities and asserted that STV would"““exploit many of the excellent funding, training and business development opportunities that exist in Scotland that help small indies survive, again to the detriment of the small indie””." Many independent producers made general comments about the potential negative impact on the industry generally. Bees Nees believes that"““The granting of independent status to STV...would be to the detriment of the independent production sector in Scotland.””" Matchlight believes that the proposal"““seems more likely to frustrate the Government's stated objective of protecting Scotland's sustainable production base than to promote it.””" I will add one more quote, if I may, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mike Bolland, a former chair of PACT, told us the proposal"““would upset the delicate ecology of television production in Scotland””."