The Government has been warned it is now or never to save BBC Birmingham, just days before a crucial white paper on the future of the broadcaster is unveiled.

Production industry professionals and community leaders have called on the Government to practice what it preaches when it spells out its expectations to the BBC.

Prime Minister David Cameron, Culture Minister Ed Vaizey and Mayor of London Boris Johnson are among dozens of politicians who have called for more investment in the Midlands from the national broadcaster.

In every other UK region, more than half of the money invested in licence fees is reinvested but in the Midlands less than 15 per cent of the £943 million our licence fee-payers will spend next year will return here.

The white paper that will determine the future of the BBC will be published in the next week - and experts have warned that, if it fails to act now, there might not be another opportunity for the Midlands.

The Post's campaign has been calling for a fair deal from the BBC
The Post's campaign has been calling for a fair deal from the BBC

Neil Hillman, managing director of Moseley post-production firm The Audio Suite, which has worked on Oscar-winning films, said it had become harder to operate from the city with such a paucity of production.

He said: "The BBC knows full well that they are defending an indefensible position. The phrase 'taxation without representation' has been repeated a lot during this consultation process and it's apt.

"It also feels very much like we're seeing the last days of the Empire being played out in Birmingham. It could be saved. It could be reversed and rejuvenated but the lack of will to do so is woeful and there is a knock-on effect.

"There is precious little left of the production and post-production industry here.

"There is no benefit to this region of crews coming in from London, Manchester, Cardiff or Glasgow, shooting in Birmingham locations and then going back.

"Retained wealth in this industry actually comes from post-production activities; picture editing, sound mixing, graphics, replication and many other value-added services provided by companies that pay rent and rates locally, employing skilled technicians that go on to raise families here and pay their council tax to Birmingham City Council."

Head of BBC Birmingham Joe Godwin at The Mailbox
Head of BBC Birmingham Joe Godwin at The Mailbox

MP Steve McCabe (Lab Selly Oak) said: "I hope the white paper is going to recognise the argument that has been made about a fair share of licence fee-payers' money being distributed across the regions and making a specific proposal that we have got to get a much better deal for Birmingham and the Midlands.

"Unless we get action from here on, there will be nothing there next time because our region has already been wiped out and will have got to the point where we won't be able to save it."

The Birmingham Post has been campaigning for more than a year for more investment from the BBC.

It came after the broadcaster invested just £80 million across the wider Midlands region, which includes the east, in a year - less than it spends in London in 12 days - despite this region contributing more than any other.

The BBC has since boosted investment to £150 million - but it still falls well short of the 50 per cent return campaigners are calling for.

The confirmation of the date of the White Paper comes at a sensitive time for the relationship between the Government and the broadcaster after the BBC decided to run stories about the private life of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, John Whittingdale.

Martin Millar and Julia Parsons filming BBC show Doctors in Stratford
Martin Millar and Julia Parsons filming BBC show Doctors in Stratford

Former BBC journalist Julian Knight, now Conservative MP for Solihull, agreed it was time for a change.

He said: "The present Manchester-London carve-up of BBC services must end. Birmingham is our nation's second city and, if our local television providers are suffering, then that is very bad news for production companies across the country.

"It is a scandal that Midlands residents pay the full £145.50 licence and yet only receive £12.50 per head back in investment.

"The BBC is supposed to be a national broadcaster and that should entail a fair and diverse distribution of its budget.

"I have been pleased to use my position as MP to support the Birmingham Post's campaign to persuade the BBC to invest in Birmingham and, together with Midlands licence fee payers, we have made sure our case is heard.

"It is up to the corporation whether they listen and I hope they will."

The white paper is key to the next ten years of the BBC under its charter.

If the BBC were to invest at the level demanded by the Birmingham Post, the region would be more than £6 billion better off across that period.

Industry veteran Anita Bhalla, chairman of Creative City Birmingham, said, while the BBC had made progress, it was vital to see commissioning and production brought into the region.

She said: "The BBC has made great strides in bringing in more jobs to the region and we have been having more constructive conversations with them but, when you look at the creative economy, the bigger picture is there needs to be more production in the region.

"For a city like ours, which is young, digital and diverse, we need jobs for people from all these categories.

"Bringing HR and the Academy is fantastic but we need creative jobs for young people and that is where the BBC need to put more energy."

A BBC Spokesperson said: "We continue to be committed to having a significant presence in Birmingham and we're building a vibrant and sustainable base for the BBC's future here, including being the BBC's home of skills and talent.

"Last week, we said Birmingham will become our centre of excellence for diverse programmes and programme makers, a further commitment to our base in the city.

"By the end of 2016, the BBC spend in the Midlands will be in excess of £125 million.

"This is more than 50 per cent up on where we were a couple of years ago and all done against a backdrop of difficult financial circumstances for the BBC.

"In the past year, we have brought 300 new jobs to Birmingham and there are now more than 700 staff based in The Mailbox HQ."