» SubscribeMain section
-
Top story
Lords slam Government's charter plans
Government plans for the BBC’s future are confusing and misguided, according to Lords select committee
2/11/05: Government plans for the BBC's future will do nothing to reduce the Corporation's vulnerability to political pressure, according to a report from the House of Lords Select Committee on the BBC Charter Review.
The Chairman of the Committee, Lord Fowler, said: "The Green Paper, A strong BBC, independent of Government, fails to live up to its title. The procedure by which the BBC's Charter is agreed is entirely outdated. Crucial decisions affecting the BBC are taken by the Government alone. The Royal Charter - under which the BBC will operate for the next 10 years - will not be subject to proper Parliamentary scrutiny. There will be no bill and no vote on the terms of the Charter and the agreement that flows from it. The Government can easily ignore outside concerns - such as the widespread criticism of their proposals on BBC governance. The BBC cannot be truly independent of Government if Government alone has the power to decide its Charter."
The Committee's main findings and proposals are:
The BBC's Constitution
The process for agreeing the BBCs constitution should be open, transparent and not in the hands of any one political party. Therefore, the BBC should be established by statute rather than by Royal Charter.
The Licence Fee
BBCs funding until 2017 should be through a licence fee set in an open and transparent manner. Licence fee settlements above the rate of inflation should only be agreed if there are exceptional reasons to justify them. The National Audit Office should take responsibility for evaluating the BBCs funding requirements.
Lord Fowler said: "It is difficult to see how the increase now being proposed can be justified. There is no reason why the licence fee payer should bear the cost of digital switchover given that the Government will make a substantial amount of money from the sale of the analogue spectrum.
"Paying for switchover through the licence fee will particularly hurt low income households."
Governance and Regulation
The BBC should be governed by a unitary board with a majority of non-executives. The BBC Board should sit above a management committee headed by the Director-General.
The Chairman of the BBC should be chosen by a truly independent panel with a majority of non-political members and a chairman who is neither a politician nor a civil servant.
Ofcom should have the same regulatory responsibilities for BBC content as it has for other free-to-air public service broadcasters. Its Content Board should be significantly strengthened. It should adjudicate on appeals against decisions made by the BBC Board.
The BBC's fair trading rules should be subject to Ofcom's approval.
Lord Fowler said:
Plans for a BBC Trust to take over from the current Governors are ill-conceived. This model fails to separate governance and regulation of the BBC, allowing the Corporation to remain judge and jury in its own case. Ofcom should provide independent regulation of the BBC's activities.
The Public Value Test
There should be a right of appeal to Ofcom if it is considered that the BBC has not paid due regard to the evidence obtained through the Public Value Test.
National Audit Office (NAO)
The NAO should have full rights of access to the BBC, as it does for other comparable public bodies, it should have the power to conduct and independently select the subject of value for money reviews.
The BBC World Service
The BBC has a world wide reputation for accurate and objective reporting. It has an important role to play abroad in providing impartial journalism where it is most needed. The Committee therefore welcome the recent announcements that the World Service will launch and Arabic language television service.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. The members of the Committee who conducted this inquiry were:
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster
Lord Kalms
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Lord King of Bridgewater
Lord Fowler (Chairman)
Lord Maxton
Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen
The Bishop of Manchester
Lord Holme of Cheltenham
Baroness ONeil of Bengarve
Baroness Howe of Idlicote
Lord Peston
2. The report is published by the Stationery Office: Review of the BBC's Royal Charter Select Committee on BBC Charter Review, 1st Report, Session 2005-06 , HL Paper 50, ISBN 010 4007508, price £14.50.
Last modified: Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Previous public service broadcasting stories
Campaign rejects call for licence-fee to fund digital switch-over
Keep Broadcasting Public - revised and updated
Jowell confirms digital switchover timetable
Happy fiftieth for ITV?
BBC governance proposals are non-negotiable
Switch to digital threatens Public Service
NUJ calls on BBC bosses to give back bonuses
The BBC After The Strike
Robin Aitkin and the biased BBC
NEWS FROM THE USA: Inspiring Conference
CPBF Response to Green Paper
MAKE THE MEDIA AN ELECTION ISSUE
BBC Cuts
PLATFORM - Replacing the BBC Licence Fee
EU Commission gets tough
Latest from BBC Charter Review team
What the CPBF told the Lords and the DCMS
NUJ to oppose job cut plans at divisional level negotiations
BBC proposes framework for detailed negotiations
Ofcom publishes Charter Renewal response
Staff unions invited to talks with BBC at ACAS
BBC strike a huge success
84% vote yes for strike over BBC job cuts
NUJ announces date for BBC strike
May's BBC Charter Review report is out
BBC - How it must change
Model answers for BBC charter consulation
Europe’s media unions back BBC workers in jobs fight
Charter Review Monthly Update - April 2005
Leading broadcasters to speak on Future of the BBC and ITV
-
Notices
Events & Announcements
World Press Freedom Day
More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
DATELINE: 27/4/13
UK launch of EU media campaign
DATELINE: 13/3/13
The UK launch of a 'European Citizens' Initiative' calling for EU rules against concentration of media power will take place on Thursday March 21 from 11:00am – 12:30pm in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords, London. Guest speakers will include actor and activist Hugh Grant (pictured), media consultant Claire Enders, Professor Steven Barnett, Barry McCall (President of the NUJ) and Marc Gruber (Director of the European Federation of Journalists).
A European Citizens' Initiative is an official petition, like a Downing Street petition. If it succeeds in gathering a million signatures across the EU, the Commission is obliged to respond.
This petition calls for the EU to act to protect media pluralism and press freedom.
CPBF Annual General Meeting
DATELINE: 1/3/13
Make a note in your diary
Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
DOWNLOAD FREEPRESS NOW
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Download Freepress in PDF, ePub or mobi format. Issue 194 now available.
MEDIA FOR ALL CONFERENCE
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Papers from the Media for All Conference
MEDIA MANIFESTO
DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
-
Previous stories
Public Service Broadcasting
Campaign rejects call for licence-fee to fund digital switch-over
Keep Broadcasting Public - revised and updated
Jowell confirms digital switchover timetable
Happy fiftieth for ITV?
BBC governance proposals are non-negotiable
Switch to digital threatens Public Service
NUJ calls on BBC bosses to give back bonuses
The BBC After The Strike
Robin Aitkin and the biased BBC
NEWS FROM THE USA: Inspiring Conference
CPBF Response to Green Paper
MAKE THE MEDIA AN ELECTION ISSUE
BBC Cuts
PLATFORM - Replacing the BBC Licence Fee
EU Commission gets tough
Latest from BBC Charter Review team
What the CPBF told the Lords and the DCMS
NUJ to oppose job cut plans at divisional level negotiations
BBC proposes framework for detailed negotiations
Ofcom publishes Charter Renewal response
Staff unions invited to talks with BBC at ACAS
BBC strike a huge success
84% vote yes for strike over BBC job cuts
NUJ announces date for BBC strike
May's BBC Charter Review report is out
BBC - How it must change
Model answers for BBC charter consulation
Europe’s media unions back BBC workers in jobs fight
Charter Review Monthly Update - April 2005
Leading broadcasters to speak on Future of the BBC and ITV
