The BBC is to dispense with a dedicated commissioning editor for religious programmes following a decision to fund fewer independent productions as part of its drive to cut costs.
Aaqil Ahmed will lose his position as Commissioning Editor Religion although he remains Head of Religion and Ethics, which oversees in-house production of programmes such as Songs of Praise.
Under the changes, religion is to be grouped with history and come under a “specialist factual” section that includes science and business, which will be responsible for commissioning programmes from independent production companies.
The move was announced as part of changes to the Factual Commissioning Team that will see a reduction in commissioning roles from eight and a half posts to six. Mr Ahmed will be allowed to apply for the new role heading up the specialist section.
Emma Swain, Controller, Factual Commissioning, for BBC Television, said the decisions had been taken as the BBC is required to make “significant savings” – £700 million in total by 2017.
Anglican Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines, the chairman of Sandford St Martin Trust, which promotes religious programmes, questioned why religion is not being prioritised when it is “impossible to understand the modern world” without it.
However, Fr Christopher Jamison, who as Abbot of Worth took a leading part in the BBC’s successful programme The Monastery, said the move “could mean a wider variety of voices being heard”.
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