Government begins consultation on the future of BBC

Consultation sets out issues to make sure BBC remains a valued public broadcaster – 12 weeks for public and industry to feed in views

Government has set out the topics for debate as part of the process to review the BBC’s Royal Charter to make sure it remains a valued public broadcaster. The current Charter is due to expire at the end of 2016. The Government’s consultation paper – a ‘Green Paper’ – is the first stage of the process in setting a new Charter.

The consultation sets out four broad issues for public discussion:

BBC’s mission, purpose and values

The BBC currently has six public purposes that were set out at the last Charter Review in 2006:

– Sustaining citizenship and civil society
– Promoting education and learning
– Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
– Representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities
– Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK
– Delivering to the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services.

The consultation paper looks at whether these purposes are still relevant, and in the context of recent challenges the organisation has faced, if there should be more direction set about how the BBC works by defining its values in the next Charter.

Scale and scope of the BBC’s services and operations

Twenty years ago the BBC had two television channels and five national radio stations. It is now the largest public service broadcaster in the world, with nine television channels, ten national radio stations, and a major online presence. The consultation paper looks at whether this particular range of services best serves licence fee payers and the impact it has on the commercial sector given the current and future media environment.

The way in which the BBC is funded

The BBC is currently funded via the TV licence fee, which has proven to be a very resilient form of funding – bringing in £3.7 billion last year. However it is not without its challenges – for example it is regressive, set at a flat rate and is not adjusted for different household incomes. It is also true that more people – especially younger people – now access television exclusively online and without a licence. This is perfectly legal, as the existing legislation was drawn up when the iPlayer did not even exist. The Government has already committed to dealing with this problem and the Charter Review will allow us to look at how to modernise the current system.

BBC’s governance and accountability

The BBC Trust – established by the current Charter – exists to represent licence fee payers and hold the BBC to account. At times the BBC has fallen well short of the standards that the public expect of it, such as the Digital Media Initiative, the failed £100m technology project which exposed governance issues at the BBC. There are three broad alternative options – to reform the Trust model, create a unitary board and a new standalone oversight body or move external regulation wholesale to Ofcom. The Government is seeking views on these models and the wider issues of how the BBC’s transparency and accountability can be improved.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, John Whittingdale MP, said: “The BBC is a national institution, paid for by the public. It will have spent more than £30 billion of public money over the current Charter period. Everyone must be able to have their say on how well they think that money is spent. This consultation gives them that opportunity. It also invites them to comment on how the BBC is governed.”

The public and industry can access the consultation paper, including an online response form here. The consultation will last for 12 weeks, from 16 July to 8 October 2015. The Government will then bring forward proposals based on this consultation in the Spring 2016.

Click here to read the full press release.