BBC Trust

Today the Government has published the BBC’s draft Charter and Agreement.

Speaking on behalf of Trustees, Rona Fairhead, Chairman of the BBC Trust, said:

"Today’s draft Charter is validation of what the public have told us they want – a strong, bold BBC, editorially independent, effectively governed and which places audiences at its heart. Long, tough but ultimately constructive negotiations have put the BBC on a strong footing for the future.

"We don’t agree with the Government on everything and are disappointed with the decision on the disclosure of presenters’ pay. We don’t believe this is in the long-term interests of licence fee payers.

"It is good that, for the first time, there will be a more transparent process for setting the licence fee.  The Government should go further and we will continue to urge them to publish future funding proposals for external scrutiny before making a final decision."

BBC Trust Conclusions on Draft Charter and Agreement

Independence

The draft Charter lays out safeguards that future decisions on appointments and funding are made transparently.

For appointments to the BBC board, the draft Charter establishes

• A clear responsibility placed on the Board to uphold and protect the independence of the BBC at all times and to act independently of management.
• A clear appointments process, which significantly improves the process set out in last Charter.
• A majority of non-Government appointments; with five (rather than six) non-executives appointed by Government; five independently-appointed non-executives and four Executive Directors. We believe this will provide the right balance of expertise and independent scrutiny.

We believe the selection of the Senior Independent Director should be a decision for the Board with no Government veto, as it is the SID’s role to hold the government-appointed Chair to account.

For future decisions about the BBC’s funding, the draft Charter requires the Secretary of State to:

• Take into account the funding needs of the BBC to deliver its mission and purposes.
• To consult the BBC before determining any settlement.
• Set binding five year funding settlements.

The Trust has long argued that there needs to be greater transparency around how the Government takes decisions about the BBC’s funding, and we are pleased this has been recognised in the new Charter for the first time.

However, we would still urge the Government to go further, and provide a clear role for the public and Parliament in having their say.

We have proposed the following amendment and will continue to make our case to the Government:

Trust Proposed Amendment on Funding Settlements

The Secretary of State must-

(a)   publish a proposed funding settlement no later than [eight] weeks before making a final determination under paragraph (5); and

(b)   take account of any comments about the proposed settlement received in that period.

The Secretary of State may not determine the funding settlement unless her proposed funding settlement has been laid before Parliament and been debated by each House.

Accountability to the Devolved Nations

We welcome the inclusion in the draft Charter and Agreement of more specific duties for the BBC in serving audiences in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and regions of England than ever before.

These include a responsibility on the BBC Board to demonstrate how it is reflecting, representing and serving communities in all of the UK’s nations and regions, enshrined as a public purpose in the new Charter, and the BBC will set out each year how it will meet it, and report on how it has done so.

Further specific measures under the new Charter include a new duty around diversity (Article 14), meaning the BBC needs to:

• Reflect the communities of the UK in its programmes, in who makes its programmes, and where they are made.
• Make sure output and services provide an accurate and authentic portrayal and representation of UK communities.
• Assess and meet the needs of communities across the UK.
• Support regional and minority indigenous languages of the UK.

NAO

For the BBC to remain editorially independent, it is vital that its editorial judgements should not be second-guessed by the Comptroller and Auditor General, who is an officer of Parliament.

However, the draft agreement dilutes the provisions that currently exist to prevent the C&AG from questioning editorial or creative judgements – by stating that it will be for the C&AG alone to determine what constitutes an editorial judgement.

In the Trust’s view, while it should be up to the C&AG to interpret the meaning of ‘editorial and creative judgements’ as the NAO goes about its work, the BBC must also be able to challenge the C&AG’s interpretation, if it needs to. We will continue to argue for an amendment to the Agreement to allow for this.

Regulation

The current clauses establish a system of bespoke regulation that takes into account the public value of the BBC, which we believe will benefit audiences and gain the support of the wider industry.

Transition

The Government has confirmed today that there will be a transitional period after the end of the current Charter and the Trust and Executive Board will continue until 3 April 2017.

We will continue to work with the Government and Ofcom to ensure a smooth transition to the new governance arrangements.

We understand the Government intends to start the process of appointing a new Chair for the BBC Board immediately, a decision we support. Timing is tight to get appointments made and have the new Board up and running effectively by April.