GREEN PAPER IS "BLUEPRINT FOR A STRONG, INDEPENDENT BBC" - JOWELL

GREEN PAPER IS "BLUEPRINT FOR A STRONG, INDEPENDENT BBC" - JOWELL

London, 2 March/GNN/ --

DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT News Release (033\05) issued by the Government News Network on 2 March 2005 Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell today published the Green Paper on the review of the BBC's Royal Charter.

She said that the Green Paper, which follows extensive public and industry consultation, would help ensure a strong, independent BBC for the future.

And it would create a responsive, more accountable BBC that would deliver quality services in the modern, multi-channel digital world.

A key announcement in the Green Paper is the abolition of the current board of Governors to be replaced by:

* A new, transparent and accountable BBC Trust to oversee the corporation - with responsibility for the licence fee and for making sure the BBC fulfils its public service obligations. * A formally constituted Executive Board - responsible for delivering the BBC's services within a framework set by the Trust.

Other major announcements include:

* The BBC to continue to be established by a Royal Charter - the next one should last from 1 Jan 2007 to 31 December 2016. * Continuation of the licence fee - at a level to be set in the next phase of Charter Review. * A review, before the end of the next Charter period, of whether there is a case for other methods of funding the BBC beyond 2016 - particularly subscription.

The Green Paper, A strong BBC, independent of government, kick-starts a second phase of public consultation on the future of the BBC.

Tessa Jowell said:

"Our consultation showed that in a world of more choice and more variety than ever before, with a fully digital Britain around the corner, the public demand a strong and independent main national public service broadcaster. This Green Paper is our blueprint for delivering it.

"The BBC, like any public institution, needs to adapt if it is to serve its audiences and keep pace with changes in technology. Its values, its global reach, its standards and its editorial independence from all comers must be preserved. Our proposals, including keeping the licence fee and renewing the Charter for another 10 years, will enable it to do just that.

"But the Governors' dual role as cheerleader and regulator does not sit easily in a public organisation of the size and complexity of the BBC. It lacks clarity. It lacks transparency. And it lacks accountability.

"The BBC Trust and Executive Board will provide much-needed daylight between two quite separate roles - running the BBC and making sure it is run well. Licence fee payers need to know who is speaking up for them. They need to know exactly who is in charge, and they deserve to know how important decisions are made.

"We want to keep the BBC strong, while ensuring that it does not become overmighty in its dealings with the wider market.

"We need it to be constrained when its interests collide with the commercial sector. It must not be tempted to use the unique clout the licence fee gives it to step on the toes of other broadcasters. It should not play copycat. Or chase ratings for ratings sake. Or put legitimate businesses at peril."

The Trust will act as the BBC's sovereign body and have ultimate responsibility for the licence fee. It will be responsible for outlining and monitoring the BBC's performance, in addition to approving the highest-level strategies and budgets, and holding the Executive Board to account for delivery of services.

The Executive Board will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the BBC, developing programme strategies, delivering the BBC's services and taking all detailed financial and operational decisions within the framework established by the Trust. It will be chaired by the Director General or, at the discretion of the Trust, a non-executive. It will contain a significant minority of non-executives who will support the executive members as "critical friends."

The Trust's members will be appointed by the Crown, and will in turn appoint the Chair of the Executive Board. The Trust's members will need to reflect the interests of a wide range of different UK communities, have the knowledge and expertise to understand and articulate the interests of the individual devolved nations, and have a range of expertise in areas including the broadcasting and media industries and financial, legal and corporate matters.

Other main points of the Green Paper are:

* Clarity of purpose - five key purposes for all BBC services to strive for. * An additional special purpose of helping to build a digital Britain. * A clear role for Ofcom in external competition regulation of the BBC. * Consideration, at an appropriate point before digital switchover, of whether public funding, including licence fee income, should be used to fund public service broadcasting more widely beyond the BBC in the future. * A need for a significant degree of production outside of London. * To boost quality and generate business throughout the broadcasting industry, further consideration of either a "window of creative competition" between BBC in-house production and external producers, or an increase in the current 25 per cent independent production quota.

To stimulate public debate on the future of the BBC, a flyer announcing the new phase of consultation and encouraging people to contribute views is being published. It will be distributed in libraries throughout the UK and Tessa Jowell is writing to Chief Librarians requesting that they stock it.

The consultation, which will also be advertised in national newspapers, will end on 31 May 2005. It sets out key questions for the public to consider, particularly focussing on how the BBC can be made more accountable to the licence fee payer - for example, asking how it should best deal with complaints and whether the Trust's deliberations should be made transparent.

Tessa Jowell added:

"The public have been at the forefront of this Charter Review, and rightly so. Their contribution so far has been invaluable in shaping the debate. I now look to them again to help shape the emerging options for the future of the BBC.

"I would also like to pay tribute to the work of my independent advisor on Charter Review, Terry Burns, and the panel he chaired. Along with the BBC and the wider industry, his panel has made invaluable contributions to the Green Paper."

The response to the latest public consultation will feed into a White Paper, which is expected to be published later this year.

Two further documents are today being published along side the Green Paper - the Government's response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's report, A Public BBC, and the results of a focused research project, led by consultants Cragg, Ross and Dawson, that has informed the Green Paper consultations.

Notes to Editors

1. The BBC's current charter, expires at the end of 2006.

2. The Green Paper, the response to the CMS Select Committee and the Cragg, Ross and Dawson research can be accessed at www.bbccharterreview.org.uk

3. Contributors to the Charter Review consultation should, if possible, consult the dedicated website www.bbccharterreview.org.uk and then send their views to:

E-mail: bbccharterreview@culture.gsi.gov.uk

Post: BBC Charter Review Department for Culture, Media and Sport 2-4 Cockspur Street London SW1Y 5DH

Fax: 0207 211 6460

Closing Date: 31 May 2005

4. The BBC's Royal Charter is a formal document granted under the Royal prerogative, establishing the BBC and defining its general objectives and functions. It is supported by the Agreement between the BBC and the Government, which sets out how the BBC will meet its general obligations, the services it will provide, and the standards, it will meet. The current charter and agreement can be accessed at http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/policies/charter/

5. The first Charter was granted in 1927. Since then reviews have been carried out about every 10 years. The current Royal Charter is the eighth in the history of the BBC.

6. The BBC provides the following publicly funded services:

* TV channels - BBC1 and BBC2, BBC 3 and BBC4, CBeebies, CBBC, BBC News 24 and BBC Parliament.

* Radio services - Radio1, Radio2, Radio 3, Radio 4, Radio Five Live, Five Live Sports Xtra, Radio 1Xtra, BBC6 Music, BBC7 and BBC Asian Network, as well as 38 local radio stations and a further six stations covering the nations.

* BBCi - the BBC's interactive services, including online services, interactive text and interactive digital television.

* Services in the nations and regions - BBC Scotland, BBC Northern Ireland, BBC Wales and BBC English Regions.

7. In addition, the BBC runs a number of commercial services, including BBC Worldwide Ltd and BBC Ventures Ltd.

8. Licence fee income in 2003/4 was around £2.8 billion (£408 million of which came from the Department for Work and Pensions to compensate the BBC for free TV licences given to over-75s). The BBC supplements that income with the contribution made to its public services by its commercial services (which contributed profits of around £38.5 million in 2003/4) and some direct Government funding - around £220 million from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office - that pays for the World Service.

9. A colour licence currently costs £121. This will rise to £126.50 from 1 April 2005.

Press Enquiries: 020 7211 6267/6271 Out of hours telephone pager no: 07699 751153 Public Enquiries: 020 7211 6270 Internet: http://www.culture.gov.uk

Department for Culture, Media and Sport 2-4 Cockspur Street London SW1Y 5DH www.culture.gov.uk

Source: DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

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