CULTURE Secretary Fiona Hyslop has said that investing a fairer share of the television licence fee in Scotland could deliver an additional £100 million for spending on broadcast output while supporting about 1,500 jobs north of the Border.

The UK Government has now renewed the BBC Charter, which sets out the public purposes of the broadcaster, guarantees its independence, and outlines its duties.

However, the Scottish Government believes the proposals do not deliver fully for a Scottish audience.

The renewal of the charter and agreement provides an opportunity for ministers, parliamentarians and the public to influence how the BBC is financed and operated.

But Scottish ministers said their suggested proposals – such as ensuring a fairer share of the licence fee money raised in Scotland being spent on productions being made north of the Border – were “rejected”.

Other key suggestions from the Scottish Government included an increase in Gaelic broadcasting output.

Hyslop said that handing a fairer share of the TV licence fee to Scotland could potentially transform broadcasting in the country.

The minister claimed that for every £100m of production spend in Scotland, about 1,500 jobs would be supported and £60m would be contributed to the Scottish economy.

She said: “This has been a critical year for the BBC. It’s a year during which we have all worked together, in good faith, to help shape the next chapter in the BBC’s story.

“We cannot and will not settle for the status quo. We have an opportunity to ensure that the BBC keeps up with and reflects wider social and constitutional changes.

“I want to speak to what I believe is the sheer scale of untapped potential in Scotland that the BBC could utilise.

“Scotland has a wealth of independent production talent across a range of genres that the BBC could tap into and better commission.

“We support the ambitions of BBC Scotland staff to be a high-quality broadcaster for the people of Scotland, but their ambitions will only be realised with increased investment and the decentralisation of commissioning authority away from Broadcasting House in London into Pacific Quay.

“With a far fairer share of the licence fee raised in Scotland being invested here we could see an additional £100m spent delivering quality TV and radio output, supporting the growth of our creative industries.

“It’s estimated that for every £100m of production spend in Scotland, around 1,500 jobs will be supported and will contribute £60m to the Scottish economy.”

The Cabinet minister is to hold talks with senior figures from the BBC and Ofcom, including the director general, Lord Hall and Sharon White, Ofcom chief executive to pursue the government’s asks about licence fee share.

Hyslop, added: “Audiences expect more, and I want BBC Scotland to be empowered to harness this potential for Scottish audiences.

“I want to see their expertise and talent at work, delivering for Scotland, contributing to network schedules, and having the confidence and financial support to deliver on TV, radio, and online, in news, drama, children’s, comedy, current affairs, and factual entertainment.

“Empowering BBC Scotland in this way does not require changes through the Charter to be delivered; it just needs the BBC itself to recognise the opportunity before it to transform broadcasting in Scotland.”

However, the BBC defended its spending record in Scotland, pointing to the quality of content being produced and the number of UK-wide services currently being used by Scottish license fee payers.

A BBC spokesman said: “We spend around £200m per year in Scotland, where audiences are very high users of the BBC, including UK-wide services.

“We are proud of the content we produce in Scotland, but have acknowledged that we can better represent Scottish audiences on all BBC services.

“We also think that with a new charter, decisions about how we best serve audiences in Scotland with dedicated services should be made within Scotland.”