Destruction Of The BBC Big Band

EDM number 553 in 1993-94, proposed by Tom Pendry on 08/02/1994.

That this House regrets the decision of the BBC to send redundancy notices to members of the BBC Big Band; agrees with Liz Forgan, Managing Director of BBC Radio, that the Band is one of immense quality and stature; recognises the popularity of the Band, which on all its recent public engagements has sold every ticket available; notes the low running cost of the Band as being about only 20 per cent. of that of the BBC Symphony and employing only 20 staff in total; believes that the decision taken by the BBC on the future of the Band will be seen as a serious failure of the BBC management in not actively managing and exploiting this unique asset; is concerned that the Big Band was discouraged by Radio 2 from performing on other radio channels as well as television and other engagements, including overseas work; believes that the BBC Big Band, the only full-time band of its kind, is a superb flagship for the BBC; notes that its destruction will put Britain behind its counterparts in the European Union who have retained their staff big bands, all of whom hold the BBC Big Band in high esteem; and calls on the BBC to revoke the redundancy notices and to create an imaginative plan for marketing all the output of the BBC Big Band, the retention of which will provide job opportunities for up-and-coming musicians.

This motion has been signed by a total of 108 MPs.