THE BBC was told yesterday to expand the number of programmes it makes

in Scotland, and to and pay more attention to what the public wants,

when it was given a 10-year reprieve by the Government.

A White Paper rejected privatising the corporation, and allowed it to

keep its licence fee instead of forcing it to resort to advertising.

The BBC will be required to agree to increase production in Scotland

and the other nations and regions of the UK in the new agreement it has

to make with the Government before its Royal Charter is renewed for a

decade from 1997.

The corporation was also told to ''pay more attention in future than

it has done in the past to the views of audiences of what is acceptable

in its programmes''.

''Many people,'' the White Paper says, ''believe there is too much

violence, sex, and bad language in television programmes. The public may

be less tolerant, especially of violent scenes, than they were a few

years ago.''

The governors are told to ''keep in touch with the BBC's audiences''

and ensure that programmes reflect their needs and interests. They are

also told that their role is to look after the public's interest within

the organisation, not to manage the BBC.

The licence fee will be kept as the main source of finance but

reviewed before the end of 2001.

The National Heritage Secretary, Mr Peter Brooke, told MPs that the

Government wanted the BBC greatly to extend the range of its commercial

ventures, especially abroad, and evolve into ''an international

multi-media leader''.

Mr John Birt, the much criticised director-general, not least by his

own staff, emerged as the probable saviour of the corporation as Mr

Brooke told one MP that the Government's approach might not have been

the same but for the radical changes he had introduced.

Mr Birt said he regarded the new 10-year charter as ''a vote of

confidence'' in the BBC. ''We are determined to become the world's

leading local broadcaster,'' he added.

The system for handling the complaints of listeners and viewers is to

be streamlined by merging the Broadcasting Complaints Commission and the

Broadcasting Standards Council. The BBC will deliver a statement of

promised new standards to the homes of all licence payers.

Mr John McCormick, controller, BBC Scotland, said the White Paper

recognised the important role of BBC Scotland through the service it

provided for viewers and listeners in Scotland and the rest of the UK,

and wanted to see them strengthened.

He said the BBC had already made a significant move in that direction

through its regional policy which would see a large investment in

programme-making outside London over the next three years with BBC

Scotland a main beneficiary.

Scottish Secretary Ian Lang described the White Paper as ''very good

news'' for Scottish broadcasting.

He said: ''I believe that we have the creative talent here in Scotland

capable of producing a wide range of programmes of high quality. The

opportunity to make more programmes -- confirmed by the White Paper --

will enable that talent to flourish in Scotland.''

Mr Lang said the ''clarification and strengthening'' of the role of

the BBC's national governor for Scotland and the Broadcasting Council

for Scotland, outlined in the White Paper, should ensure that BBC

Scotland played its full part in contributing to the BBC's output

throughout the UK.

The Shadow Scottish Secretary, Mr George Robertson, said: ''There is

no commitment that skills and jobs will follow the previously announced

production moves. Decentralisation should have been at the heart of

reinvigorating UK public service broadcasting.''

SNP leader Alex Salmond wrote to Mr Brooke asking if the new charter

would enhance the strategic role and autonomy of the Scottish National

Broadcasting Council. He said: ''People in Scotland deserve a BBC that

is national in character, not regional.''

Mr Brian Wilson, Labour MP for Cunnighame North, said Scottish

broadcasters did not want to produce just more inward looking prgrammes

but a fair opportunity to make programmes that went out to the rest of

the UK.

Labour's spokesman, Dr Marjorie Mowlam, said the party was relieved

the Government had rejected privatisation but said it had gone for the

status quo instead of being more ambitious. Mr Robert Maclennan, for the

Liberal Democrats, attacked the continuing ''cosy self-regulation'' by

the BBC governors and called for an independent regulator for all

television.