* The BBC Trust has lost confidence and credibility and should be abolished. However, the problem that the Trust was intended to solve remains
* The BBC’s Board needs to be reformed as a unitary board and strengthened, with the addition of an independent Chair
* It awaits the results of the Clementi review, but in its judgement wider accountability should be the task of a separate section of Ofcom
* A new complaints procedure would see all complaints handled initially by the BBC itself, with both industry and editorial issues subsequently escalated to Ofcom
* The redefined BBC Board should re-examine the business case for BBC Worldwide and, if it decides to retain the wholly-owned subsidiary model, it should be subjected to greater transparency and accountability and kept under kept under review by Ofcom
* There remain concerns about the BBC Studios proposals on four fronts: State Aid rules, transparency and accountability over pay, the relationship between BBC Studios and BBC Commissioners, and the BBC’s regional presence
* The lack of transparency around salaries, and concerns over levels of pay for executives and talent alike, must be addressed
[..]
In relation to the Charter review, the Committee says:* The process of Charter renewal should be separated from general elections, to avoid undue political pressures, delay and uncertainty
* It does not believe there is merit in a short Charter of five years or so
* If the White Paper is delayed as expected, there may well be a case for extending the present Charter for a further period
[..]
A key issue for the new Charter is how to balance accountability and independence. As a largely publicly funded, public service broadcaster, the BBC must offer good value for money to taxpayers, and be appropriately accountable for its spending (including on executive pay), for its editorial decisions, and for the conduct of its staff. However, it must also be protected from pressures, from the public and from politicians, which might undermine its ability to broadcast programmes that may be unwelcome to the loud, the powerful or the litigious.But proper scrutiny and accountability cut both ways. The rushed and secretive process for the licence fee settlement last July was highly regrettable, especially echoing as it did the 2010 licence fee settlement, and the Government should take steps to make sure it cannot happen again. When the present Secretary of State was Chair of this Committee he made this argument very vigorously himself, so we hope we are pushing at an open door in this regard, and with many of our recommendations.”
In conclusion, Norman said this was an initial report, and there remained many issues which the Committee had not yet been able to address, and would be returning to in further work
From advancedtelevision.com
