BBC Trust

The BBC must continue to be held to stricter standards than other broadcasters, the BBC Trust said today.

Publishing research and evidence on BBC complaints handling, governance, and efficiencies as part of its Charter Review work, the Trust identified bespoke regulation as the best option for the future of the corporation. 

The Trust also reiterated its call for future BBC funding settlements to be decoupled from the political process, following the July settlement with the Government.

In a speech to the Westminster Media Forum today, on the day the Trust’s public consultation on Charter Review closes, Director of the BBC Trust Alex Towers will say:

"It would seem perverse if independent regulation led to a diminution of the standards that are applied to the BBC."

"Even accounting for the greater scope of BBC regulation and the larger range of BBC services, it’s pretty clear that a different standard of accuracy and impartiality is being applied."

He will add:

"Our experience in the summer of another rushed funding settlement, behind closed doors, was a bad one.  If the Government gives the BBC an independent regulator, there is also an opportunity to de-politicise BBC funding settlements in future, and to make the process fairer and more rigorous, by giving that regulator a formal role to advise Ministers on the right level of funding."

Research by the Trust earlier this year found strong public support for independent regulation for the BBC.  The findings of the Trust’s public consultation on Charter Review today show that the public supports the independence of the corporation, with eight in ten people rating the BBC’s independence from Government, politicians, and commercial/business interests as very important

According to the independent analysis of complaints handling published as part of today’s evidence, the BBC is consistently held to a different standard on accuracy and impartiality than other broadcasters, and nearly half of the 286 editorial standards cases that the Trust dealt with in 2014/15 could not have been considered by Ofcom under its current remit.

The evidence published today also highlights the progress the BBC has made on efficiencies.  PwC found that the BBC has achieved significant sustained efficiencies in recent years, with the BBC’s overheads comparing favourably with regulated industry and public sector bodies.  Almost nine in ten people in the Trust’s Charter public consultation said that the BBC should make sure it provides good value for money in future. 

The full speech by Alex Towers can be found here.

Notes to Editors

1. Trust evidence on Efficiency and value for money.
2. Trust evidence on Governance and independence.
3. Trust evidence on Complaints handling.
4. Trust evidence on Future work.
5. The Trust’s public consultation as part of its Charter Review work closes today, 5 November.
6. Today’s publication follows the publication by the Trust of research and evidence on future funding of the BBC, and market impact.  
7. The evidence published today follows publication on 8 October of the Trust’s response to the Government’s Green Paper consultation on Charter Review.