CHANGING the timing of first minister's questions in the Scottish Parliament has proved a television ratings disaster, MSPs will be told tomorrow.
Viewing figures for BBC Scotland's Holyrood Live programme collapsed after last September's trial switch from 3.10pm to noon each Thursday.
Numbers slumped from 46,000 to 18,000 after the change, a drop in audience share from 7% to 3%.
The Scottish Parliament's procedures committee will discuss the ratings this week as it decides whether to move FMQs back to an afternoon slot.
The figures bear out warnings by BBC Scotland last year that shifting the event to before lunch would cut audiences.
They are also embarrassing for Jack McConnell, first minister, who personally suggested the changes last May.
He said holding FMQs before lunch would make them ''more accessible for the public'', particularly visiting school trips. The change split FMQs from the longer question time, in which other ministers answer questions from back- benchers, which still runs from 2.30pm to 3.10pm. Opposition party leaders and George Reid, the parliament's presiding officer, endorsed the plans, which were brought into effect after formal backing from the procedures committee.
In a letter to MSPs, Alasdair Macleod, editor of BBC Scotland's Scottish parliamentary unit, says that between September and December, Holyrood Live experienced ''a significant fall in viewing figures''.
Research among MSPs also found ''a large majority'' of those who expressed a view thought that the noon slot had been a flop, although there was no consensus on the optimum timing.
Robin Harper, leader of the Greens, said FMQs had ''definitely lost a bit of atmosphere'', while Carolyn Leckie, of the Scottish Socialists, objected to the change eating into time officially set aside for opposition debates.
However, extending FMQs from 20 to 30 minutes had been popular.
There was more support for the new system among visitors to the public galleries, 47% of whom approved of keeping FMQs and Question Time separate. Three-quarters of school groups also preferred the new times. Parliament staff reported a shortage of public seats because so many school parties were attending.
The procedures committee will now look at six options on when to hold FMQs and question time.
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