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While reading David Crystal's Sounds Appealing, I came across the following sentence.

There was a Pronunciation Unit that dealt with queries (such as how to pronounce the name of a foreign place or politician), but the range of issues being raised went well beyond its remit, and the small team that staffed it couldn’t cope with the quantity.

I am struggling with the segment but the range of issues being raised went well beyond its remit.

I don't have a problem understanding the meaning of the sentence. It's only when I narrow my focus on the construction range of issues being raised went, I writhe in confusion.

What is the function and category of being raised here?

I would have no problems with the following constructions.

issues were being raised
issues were raised

issues that/which were being raised went ... Is this the same construction and am I only confused because I can't grasp the understood but not used 'that/which were', which could divide the clauses more clearly?

Or is it some complex construction I don't know about?
Or is it a participial phrase in past simple clause which is modifying the noun phrase 'range of issues'?

Something is bugging me about that segment's construction and I can't find out why. Please help.

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    Yes, it means issues which were being raised. (Does the BBC Pronunciation Unit no longer exist?)
    – Kate Bunting
    May 16, 2022 at 7:12
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    ACTIVE: The range of issues people were raising was overwhelming for the small staff to handle. (2) "went beyond its remit"= (to go outside a limit) to do more than is expected or required.
    – Mari-Lou A
    May 16, 2022 at 7:53
  • @KateBunting A quick Google search confirms that BBC pronunciation unit still exists today. The past tense used in the sentence under question, I think, is the narrative style chosen by Mr. Crystal.
    – Bhaskar from India
    May 16, 2022 at 10:56
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    "The range of issues being raised" is a noun phrase functioning as subject of the clause "the range of issues being raised went well beyond its remit". The non-finite participial clause "being raised" is a modifier in the NP. Semantically, it is similar to the relative construction "the range of issues that were being raised". Note that "being raised" is not some kind of 'reduced' relative clause, but a distinct clause type in its own right with a separate structure to that of a relative clause.
    – BillJ
    May 16, 2022 at 13:26
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    @BhaskarfromIndia Absolutely, yes, it's passive. Compare this example too: "I came across a letter [written by my great-grandfather]", where the bracketed element is a passive past-participial clause modifying "letter".
    – BillJ
    May 16, 2022 at 14:21

2 Answers 2

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"... the range of issues was raised (by people). The range of issues went well beyond its remit."

*"...the range of issues which was raised went well beyond its remit,"

"...the range of issues being raised went well beyond its remit."

Here, "The range of issues being raised" is a noun phrase in which the participal phrase (non-finite clause as per modern grammar), "being raised" is acting as the post-modifier, modifying the head of the NP "the range of issues".

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... the range of issues being raised went well ...

is for --->

... the range of issues that were raised went well ... (passive)

if we rewrite the sentence with an active verb --->

... the range of issues that the people raised went well ... (active)

or

... the people raised issues, and their range went well ... (active)

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