The BBC in Scotland has a problem (or two or three). And I write ‘the BBC in Scotland’ because BBC Scotland at Pacific Quay is somewhat of a different beast, most obviously geographically, from the rest of the network. And the criticisms made of the BBC in Scotland by the Audience Council, published last week, mainly concerned network shows and news - that is, those not necessarily made in Scotland. That is where the 'Anglified' perspective’ was perceived. Despite appearances - and prejudices - the BBC is not a monolith (or a monoculture).

The council, indeed, felt that BBC Scotland’s coverage of the referendum, for example, was “thorough”.

However the accompanying Annual Review itself held a more troubling statistic for the BBC in Scotland. Only 48% (somewhat rounded up elsewhere in the report to ‘around 50%’) of people in Scotland feel it is “good at representing their life in news and currant affairs content”. This compares with 61% in England, Northern Ireland and 55% in Wales. The answer? The council felt BBC Scotland should be given ‘greater authority and resources to commission programmes for Scotland audiences.’

Now there’s the rub. I had an interesting chat with a BBC executive, based down south, this week, about BBC Scotland. This chief - speaking strictly on the grounds of anonymity - said yes, that would be a way of aiding Scottish audiences feel more attuned to what the BBC in Scotland is broadcasting, just like how, the executive said, internal BBC research shows the north of England is happier with the Beeb since more programmes are being made in Salford, Manchester. Greater investment would also reverse a drop in network production being made from Scotland.

But the BBC are in a fix. For starters, 1000 jobs are to go as the BBC - at least - in its latest cost cutting exercise, forced by a gap of £150m in its finances in 2016/17, a drop which has been largely blamed on the the increased number of households watching the BBC on iPlayer and catch-up (and you don’t need a licence for that - at the moment). This cost-cutting does not allow a lot of leeway for ramping up the amount of production being made in Scotland, he said. In fact every part of the corporation is tightening its belt.

And that is even before the future of the BBC is recast following the currant green paper published by the government last week, which could see radical changes to how it is run, what it makes, and how it is funded. Who knows what BBC Scotland will look like after that process: the green paper questions the ‘value for money’ of Gaelic broadcasting, for example.

The executive could not see where the extra cash will come from to increase BBC production north of the border. There is also the matter of will. ‘No one in the BBC in London really watches BBC Scotland or what it is doing,’ the executive said. How seriously does the BBC management in London care about that 48% figure? Perhaps not as seriously as it should. ‘There was talk of more power to the regions before the green paper - but less so now,’ the executive said. Watch, as they say, this space.