Broadcasting Watchdog Welcomes Pair of Appointments to Scots Advisory Committee

A former MSP and Scottish Government Minister has been named among two new appointments to a committee that advises the Scottish division of broadcasting regulators, Ofcom.

Peter Peacock is currently policy director for Community Land Scotland and chair of the Customer Forum for the Water Industry in Scotland. He has held a variety of public sector positions and former appointments include the Post Office Board for Scotland, the Scottish Council Development and Industry and chair of Moray Firth Community Radio.

He was elected to the Scottish Parliament for the Labour Party in 1999, stepping down last year at the Scottish Parliament elections. He was a Minister for Education and Young People. He joins the committee in November, while the other appointment, Stuart Gibson, starts with immediate effect.

Says Ofcom of Gibson: “[He] is based in Edinburgh and is a self-employed consultant and author of the ‘Digital Power’ report for Reform Scotland. His previous banking career included Global Head of HBOS plc’s Telecoms and Media industry group. He is a non-executive director of Farrpoint Ltd (Telecoms consultancy), Smallworld Media (a cable business operating in South West Scotland and North West England), Location Scotland (a locations and production company), and is involved in Edinburgh Citizens Advice Bureau.”

Ofcom quotes, in a media statement, Philip Schlesinger, the chair of the Advisory Committee Scotland, as saying: “The Advisory Committee for Scotland has an extremely active role and broad agenda at a challenging time. We need in-depth expertise and good judgement across the piece and I am therefore delighted to welcome people of the calibre of Stuart Gibson and Peter Peacock to the committee.”