THE BBC should show more Scottish news and better report national issues such as sectarianism and alcohol abuse, a new report states.

“Deeper analysis and a stronger sense of challenge” over major national issues is required at the BBC, the Audience Council for Scotland (ACS) says, as well as more Scottish news to counter a “continued bias towards news stories that only affect England”.

The report from the ACS, which advises the BBC’s ruling body, the BBC Trust, was published yesterday alongside the corporation’s annual review. That showed “a range of improvement for BBC audiences in Scotland,” according to the Trust.

The number of hours of television produced in Scotland for the main national UK network channels rose by 150%, from 243 to 611, particularly in the drama and comedy genres.

Reporting Scotland, BBC Scotland’s weekday news bulletin, hit its highest level of viewers for nearly 10 years in December, with 710,000 viewers.

However, the report by the ACS also notes “research undertaken by the Trust demonstrates a continued bias on network news towards stories about England”. It adds: “Research demonstrated audience demand for more Scottish news, and less coverage of ‘devolved’ matters as they affect England, as part of an offering of UK and international news.

“Members believed that responding to this would improve audience perceptions of how well the BBC reflects their local interests, and would help deliver the BBC’s democratic purpose in Scotland.”

In the report, it states “there is more work to be done on enrichment of UK stories on the BBC networks with examples from outside of London, and of the representation of Scotland on BBC Radio 4”.

Yesterday’s annual report and report from the ACS come in a year when BBC Scotland will begin to implement 20% cuts in its budget, between now and 2017, because of the new licence fee settlement.

Bill Matthews, the BBC’s National Trustee for Scotland, said: “It’s great to see the BBC has made significant progress this year on delivering for Scottish audiences.

“Our Audience Council – made up of volunteers from across Scotland – recognises this in its independent review, with special mention for the healthy increase in Scottish programming on the main network channels.

“We note the Audience Council’s priorities for the forth-coming year, in particular the need to ensure decisions about the licence fee settlement are implemented fairly, and will be working with the executive to ensure these remain front-of-mind.”

Mr Matthews also noted a priority for the BBC would be to keep up the level of original material on the new Gaelic channel, BBC Alba, which is now on Freeview.

BBC Scotland reported network television production in 2010 amounted to 7.4% of their spending, above the target of 6% for 2012.

New programmes made in Scotland include Lip Service and Single Father, Limmy’s Show, Gary: Tank Commander and Burnistoun.

The BBC had aimed to increase network television production in Scotland to 6.1% by 2012 and 8.6% by 2016.

BBC Scotland’s radio hours also increased from 14,694 to 15,917.

The ACS was also concerned the BBC should make a “stronger offering” for young audiences, and has not “taken sufficient account of a lack of enthusiasm” to digital radio.

It added: “[We] noted BBC Radio’s provision of high-quality speech for audiences in Scotland is shared, in the main, between BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland.

“BBC Radio 4 drama and readings from Scotland was noted as a consistently successful area.

“However there was no common strategy between the two to cover ‘all the bases’ as far as the Scottish audience is concerned.

“For some, BBC Radio Scotland does not offer sufficient depth, while BBC Radio 4 – though offering quality – does not offer sufficient range.”

The report also said Radio 4 has “a world-view rooted in the south of England” and does not have a “genuine pan-UK perspective”.