BBC Trust

The Trust has now agreed the BBC Executive's response to the Trust's review which took place earlier this year.

The Trust review, published in February, found that the BBC is delivering popular children's content which makes an important contribution to the BBC's public purposes. The Trust commended staff for the performance they have achieved with the resources available but also identified some areas where improvements are needed. Finally the Trust also highlighted key budgetary pressures which, left unchecked, could have undermined future performance.

The Executive has now responded with an action plan setting out how they intend to implement the Trust's recommendations.

In response to the Trust's recommendations the BBC Executive has:

• Clarified its objectives for children's services and set out plans to invest an additional £25.5m in CBBC content over three years
• Set out plans to strengthen the online audio offering for children. The Executive has also stopped broadcasting Go4it on Radio 4 in light of very low audience numbers and made changes to the Radio 7 schedule to broadcast CBeebies radio at a time when children are more likely to be listening
• Developed plans to address the fall in usage of the CBBC website
• Set out plans to recover the audience lost when children's programmes were moved earlier in BBC One's afternoon schedule including through new investment in key citizenship programmes and possible schedule changes in the longer term
• Safeguarding audience to children's programming is a priority for the Trust and we will closely monitor progress against the Executive's plans over the coming months.

Mehmuda Mian, BBC Trustee, who led the review said:

"I am confident that the Executive's response to our recommendations will strengthen children's broadcasting which we believe lies at the heart of the BBC's public service remit. The Trust report has led to additional funding of £25.5 million which will ease budgetary pressures and provide more money for children's programmes. Alongside our other recommendations this money will help ensure that the BBC remains a cornerstone of high-quality, UK-produced children's content."

The Trust itself will also:

• Amend the CBBC and CBeebies Service licence budgets to include expenditure on television programmes which currently falls under the BBC One and BBC Two budgets. Separating children's funding from other BBC services will publically demonstrate the BBC's full commitment to this genre and help the Trust to monitor future levels of expenditure
• Amend the CBeebies service licence to reflect CBeebies contribution to the BBC's Global public purpose, and ensure this contribution continues in the future. This purpose requires the BBC to bring the World to the UK and CBeebies does this introducing children to different cultures from around the world
• Continue to monitor progress made by the Executive in implementing our report recommendations.

Notes to editors

The Trust concluded its review of children's services in February 2009. The Trust's original press release and findings can be read at:

Trust publishes review of BBC children's services