Why we're doing all this
Making the savings
Where is the money being
reinvested?
Professional Services
Progress on the other Reviews
Unions
Helping people through this difficult
time
More information
Why we're doing all this
1. Why are we making all these
changes? To have a BBC which is as strong in the future as it is today,
and as relevant in a fast changing world. To
achieve this we have to change radically.
2. What does "change
radically" mean? Essentially, do three things:
- Have a long term programme and content strategy based around
excellence. The Creative Future project, announced recently, will
spend most of 2005 coming up with detailed proposals, but we know
it will be focused on what audiences want and, of course, building
on our creative ambitions;
- Become a state-of-the-art digital broadcaster not just in
emerging technology (like High Definition Television) but also on
all the platforms (mobile, web, TV, radio, ...and who knows what
else yet) that people already expect us to be on, now and in the
future;
- Irreversibly shift the culture of the BBC towards simplicity,
opportunity and creativity. This continues the
work started in Making it Happen.
3. Why the 'audiences' card
all the time? They're the only reason we exist. We need to understand and
respond to the vastly different ways and mindsets that audiences
have and their expectations of what new pieces of kit (like
Broadband and PVRs) can do for their lives in a very fast moving
digital world. Earlier this month the first
episode of Dr Who was leaked before broadcast, on the internet
using a program called BitTorrent. This is the
first time this has happened to a major BBC show but thousands of
people use BitTorrent to load down BBC shows illegally.
4. But we got a good Green
Paper settlement.. The Green Paper is an important milestone. But it's not a
'settlement' by any means and we've a long way to go in securing
the BBC's strong future beyond 2006. The plus points in the Green
Paper are related to us having promised the internal reforms,
including the Value for Money plans And,
critically, the actual level of the licence fee has yet to be
debated.
5. If the licence fee hasn't
been announced, surely saving money through the cuts will mean we
end up with a worse settlement because we need less? The money we save is going straight back into
output. By 2008 we'll be able to put some
£355million a year more into content and distribution ie more
than the £320 million we had originally aimed
for. This is 'self help' to match what we hope
will be a strong licence fee settlement. We need
both of these elements to expand our output and match audiences'
increasingly diverse expectations of the BBC
6. Why do we need to make such
dramatic change, especially around value for money? Did Greg
get it wrong? We have to pursue value for money for three reasons:
- to bring the current Charter in on budget.
Greg's long-term financial plan always called for quite big value
for money savings in the last two years of this Charter, building
up to £155 million of savings in the financial year
2006/7. We'd have had to have made deep savings
this year and next just to hit that target.
- to free up some of the licence-fee to start investing in the
digital future and in all the plans we lay out in Building Public
Value.
- as part of the negotiation of a new licence-fee, the Government
were bound to look very closely at value-for-money in the
BBC. In fact we expect them to send in
value-for-money auditors of their own in the next few
months. If we can't convince them and the
outside world that we're taking value for money seriously
ourselves, our chances of getting a strong licence-fee settlement
are zero. Indeed, there would be a real risk of
the Government imposing their own targets on us from the
outside. This way is a lot better than
that.
Making the savings
7. What are the headlines of
the job cuts? 3,780 posts are lost in total over three years, 3,030 through
regular staff turnover and redundancy and the rest through
outsourcing in Professional Services.
13% of the posts in Content and Output divisions will close (some
2,050 posts) and 46% of the posts will close in Professional
Services (some 1730 roles including 750 posts outsourced the latter
mostly from BBC People and Finance).
Overall, across the BBC, this represents a total headcount
reduction of 19%.
A breakdown of divisional job reductions will be published on this
site later this week.
8. What are the savings
released from this for programmes & services? By March 2008, the BBC will have realised £355m for
reinvestment each year compared with today. All
this money will be going back into programmes and
services. £139m is coming from
Professional Services (including procurement savings) and
£221m from Content and Output divisions. (This totals
£360m. A small contingency is being held against
implementation risks).
9. Isn't this more than the
total of £320m Mark announced in December? Yes. While the Professional Services
divisions have pretty much met their original target, collectively
the Content and Output divisions have exceeded their target by
£40m, as they found more savings in procurement and
non-headcount costs. This extra saving has not involved increased
job losses.
10. How do we square the 2,500
support service posts announced in December and yet only 1,730
Professional Services posts announced in March? The 2,500 was an estimate. The 1,730 posts
announced in March were Professional Services staff only. The
divisional support staff are included in the Content and Output
division plans.
11. Does the 2,050 include any
'embedded' Professional Services staff? No, the 'embedded' people are included in the
1,730 declared for Professional Services.
The 2,050 does include around 250 divisional support staff (such as
team assistants). Production Management staff are included within
the direct staff in Content and Output divisions
12. How many of the 750 staff
to be outsourced are from Finance, BBC People and
procurement? About 350 will be outsourced from BBC People and the remainder
from Finance and Procurement
13. How much of the
£355m for reinvestment comes from headcount loss and how much
from other savings? About a half of the total savings come from outsourcing in
Professional Services and improved negotiations with suppliers. We
can't give details here as it would mean disclosing commercially
sensitive information which could affect our ability to make those
savings.
14. The number of posts
closing overall is still unbelievably high. For
example, 420 posts in News, 735 in Nations & Regions
etc. These are really shocking
figures. In December, Mark announced an overall target 15% cut in
Content and Output division budgets. These
numbers feel big and they are big but these are also big
divisions. The reduction in News represents 12%
of the divisional headcount and 13% of the Nations and Regions
headcount. On average, across all the Content
and Output divisions the final figure is 13% of the
headcount.
15. Are we really getting rid
of over a thousand journalists from News and Nations and
Regions? No. Not all the posts in News and Nations
and Regions are journalist ones. These
divisions, and the post reductions, include people across a range
of areas and skills
16. But when will I know what
this actually means for me and my department?
There's still lots of detail missing. I'm
frustrated and disappointed. Divisions have been working hard to try and give as much
detail as possible but every division's plan is different both in
terms of the 'how' and the 'when'. Delay is unsettling, of course,
but we've got to get it right and these are complex changes. We're
committed to telling you as much as possible as early as possible
and to consulting fully with the unions.
17. How will BBC production
departments remain dynamic and exciting places to work after the
cuts? How can in-house production survive if
it's subjected to cost-per-hour reductions and scrutiny of
budgets? While in-house production will be smaller, its whole raison
d'etre must be to be a world-class, creative production base,
delivering the very best output. While adopting
new, production processes and ways of working are important so that
programmes can be made more efficiently, nothing will substitute
our continuing need to create exciting, broad and varied
opportunities for programme makers. This includes, over time,
re-investing the savings in content which create new opportunities.
In part, this is also as much about new attitudes as it is new ways
of doing things. We know,
however, this will be tough to achieve and no-one is denying
that.
18. Why will it take three
years to achieve these savings, extending the pain for
people? The savings picture is sophisticated and has been built up in
each division by people who really know the
output. We want to give divisions and programme
teams time to achieve them through genuine improvements, not crude
cuts.
19. What are the breakdowns of
job reductions for the individual divisions and what are the
headlines of the reinvestment in the different areas? A table showing these will be available on this site later
this week
20. How are the Value for
Money savings going to affectIndies? Will they be asked to make the
same cuts? We want all programmes to be made in the most efficient
way possible. We'll be working with Indie producers to identify
where new ways of working can lead to cost savings and
efficiencies. Our newly-agreed terms of trade withIndiesdon't allow us to simply apply cost
reductions without this collaboration and of course we'll be
honouring those agreements.
These people may not have BBC staff cards, but for the public
many of them are the BBC. And they are vital. They too are being
briefed on the changes.
22. Have the Governors now
approved the Value for Money plans for all divisions fully, or are
there caveats? The Governors have approved all the plans fully.
23. Is it true that the
Government, also, is sending auditors to the BBC in the summer to
check the savings plans? This is likely. If we can't convince them and the outside
world we're taking the thing seriously our chances of getting a
strong licence fee settlement are very poor.
24. How are fewer people
going to make better programmes? These changes will take three years to put in place. We'll use
that time to plan how to work in a way which makes the savings and
still produces the same excellent output we do today. Divisions
have created plans they believe are feasible, with contributions
from programme editors and executive producers, thinking hard about
what's possible (and in some areas what's possible is much less
than 15%).
In some cases we will be putting more money in overall. So
over the next three years we will be working with everyone in the
various divisions to make sure we get it right and go on talking
about how we do it.
25. Once all the
latest changes have occurred, how are we going to recapture that
creative buzz that we had under Greg
Dyke? Going through a big process like this has a big impact on the
organisation, and it's harder to focus on
creativity. The next ten years offers amazing
creative opportunities in the organisation and we need to focus
everyone on these opportunities this is the 'prize' for the
organisation and the licence fee payers.
Creating the Creative Future project, which was announced in early
March, is just the start.
Where is the money being reinvested?
26. What areas will benefit
from the reinvested money? We want to strike the right balance between boosting
investment in today's services and in the services of the
future. About half the money will go into
today's services - areas like television drama, comedy, music
(including the Alternative Proms), specialist factual, Nations and
Regions and newsgathering will all benefit.
Because of its critical position in how people think about the BBC
and its services, BBC ONE specifically will have more
investment. This is not an exclusive list.
The other half of the money will go into services for the future
and which begin to deliver the promises we made in Building Public
Value. Things like supporting new forms of
digital television, developing new platforms and navigation
including on-demand and two interactive streams; new developments
to personalise radio listening; new ways to take news on demand;
initial investment to make the BBC's archive available and a large
allocation of funds to support our vision of new services in the
Nations and Regions.
27. But what's to prevent us
wasting money, and betting the farm, in unproven areas? New services will be piloted and will be subjected by the
Governors to the new Public Value Test of impact, reach, quality
and value for money.
28. Aren't we just robbing
Peter to pay Paul here? For a short period, each of the Content and Output divisions'
budgets will fall, because we have to make net savings to balance
the books before the end of this Charter. So this is where money
will be going in 2005/6 and 2006/7. But once this is done by the
end of 2006/7 budgets will begin to go up again.
This doesn't remove the need to make programmes more efficiently
though
29. What happens to the
reinvestment if we don't manage to make the savings? We can only reinvest from money we realise from the savings.
In real terms, there will be no extra external
cash.
30. What if the licence fee
for the next Charter is less than it is in real terms
today? Will we have to make further
savings? That will be a management decision at the
time. But the Government has said very clearly
it wants a strong and independent BBC. We hope
that this, together with the robust case we are making for our
programmes and services in the next Charter, mean we can argue for
a strong licence fee settlement when it's announced in early
2006.
31. How will bureaucracy
and managerial layers change for the better? Where is the
evidence? We've announced the merger of Strategy and Distribution and
Policy and Legal divisions doing similar though complementary work.
They will have one director rather than two, and one set of support
staff rather than two. We've now got a smaller executive
board.
This is just one obvious example. Where we can, over the next few
months, we'll identify further ways to reduce some of the layers in
the organisation.
32. How will we measure
the success of these changes? We have a mixture of quantifiable measures for achieving
the savings targets. But they're a means to an
end and ultimately it's about whether the BBC remains as relevant
to theUKinto the future as it is
today. We will know that regularly - from the
feedback we get from our audiences, from the politicians, from the
media and from commentators in the industry.
Professional Services
33. Nearly half the
Professional Services people are going. What
will be the impact on the rest of the BBC?
Smaller, more focused, professional services will mean
different ways of working for everyone in the BBC and will require
all managers to be more self sufficient.
Remember the Professional Services changes are necessary if we are
going to release enough money to go back into content and output by
2007/8, including helping the BBC prepare for the digital future
and developing the technology to make our programmes available on
demand.
34. Surely this just means
more work for the people who are left?
The changes will mean every one of us working
differently; stopping doing some things and doing other things in
different, more effective and more standardised
ways. Getting this right is as crucial as making
the savings. 35. We've heard all this
rhetoric about needing to work differently before - culture change,
line managers taking more responsibilities, stopping doing things
etc. What's so different this time? Over the coming months there will be a lot of activity across
the BBC to make the changes real, including the need to look again
at leadership in the BBC, to be clear what we expect of our
managers, to reward people for excellent leadership and sound
management to build on the work begun by Making it Happen.
We've learned a lot about how to do change in the BBC over the
past decade and we've learned also from the mistakes we've made.
The senior team has the responsibility to find solutions, but we
also want to continue to involve everyone in solving the questions
that lie at the heart of change.
We need to focus on what the BBC should feel like to
work in, but also (and critically) a hard-nosed reappraisal of the
BBC's systems, processes, relationships and structures. Over the
next few weeks, the change team led byKatharine
Everettis going to work closely with people in every
division to ensure that this time the change actually happens.
We'll come back to you with concrete plans in the
summer.
36. What will be the impact on the
role of the line manager?
To make this work all of us will have to play our part by
accepting simpler, more centralised processes, prioritising our
demand, and getting used to using more e-services. We will be
undertaking a substantial piece of work to look at how the role of
leader / line manager in the BBC needs to evolve to enable these
changes and will provide the training and support required.
37. What about Professional
Services helping the Content and Output divisions in their changes
though? The Professional Services changes will be introduced in such a
way to ensure that Content and Output divisions get as much help as
possible during their own changes.
38. Does Professional Services
having a much larger savings target (on average 46% vs 13%) mean
it's regarded as inferior to the Content and Output
divisions? Absolutely not. Professional services at
the BBC are highly regarded both inside and outside the
organisation and have done great things. But we
need to redress the balance to both release money and become much
more efficient as an
organisation.
To make this work all of us will have to play our part by accepting
simpler, more centralised processes, prioritising our demand,
getting used to using more e-services and redefining the practical
role of the line manager in the BBC.
Progress on the other Reviews
39. Value for Money was only
one of four reviews, announced last June. What
have been the conclusions from the other three? Peter Salmon is heading a team on the plan for Out of
London, due to go to the Governors in the summer. It includes
examining how best to move key BBC services toManchester.
On the Commercial Review we concluded that :
- we won't be selling BBC Worldwide but that a programme to
double profits over the next two years should be put in
place.
- while providing vital services to the BBC, BBC Broadcast and
BBC Resources do not need to be owned by the BBC. As a result, BBC
Broadcast has been put up for sale and is likely to have a new
owner by the end of the Summer. Seventy companies so far have
expressed an interest in buying BBC Broadcast.
We'll reach a decision on BBC Resources later this year.
Work is still continuing on the Content Supply Review,
which is looking at how the BBC can deliver the best content to
audiences by ensuring a balance between a strong in-house
production operation and fair access for all external and indie
suppliers.
40.But how can
we have decided on cuts in the content divisions without having
conclusions yet from the Content Supply Review?
The in-house guarantee of 50% of all qualifying genre
output will be the base of BBC in-house
production. The Window of Creative Competition
(the WOCC - see below) comes additional to
this.
To create space for competition in the WOCC, the Content Supply
Review has recommended reducing in-house production capacity in
genres where there are currently quite high levels of fixed
capacity.
In identifying these areas, we've taken into account the strategic
priorities already identified for the BBC across different
programme genres, and linked into divisional value for money plans
that are being announced today.
We also want all suppliers to feel that the BBC is easier and
simpler to deal with as a broadcaster and the Content Supply Review
is recommending how commissioning structures, systems and processes
should be changed to make commissioning quicker and more
transparent.
41. Explain more about the"Window Of Creative Competition" (the WOCC)? At the moment, there's a production quota in which a
minimum 25% of BBC television commissions go to indies. The WOCC,
which still has to be approved by the government, proposes to
create a further 25% where both BBC andIndiescompete among BBC commissioners for the best programmes,
irrespective of who's made them. The remaining
50% of commissions go to BBC productions. This
new 'creative window' will apply to all genres which are currently
included in the indie quota (except CBBC and Sport as they develop
their plans for the move toManchester).
42. When might the WOCC
happen? It could start from 2007, when the new Charter
starts. The proposal is included in the debate
about the BBC's Charter renewal.
43. I work in Global News
Division - BBC World Service, BBC World and BBC Monitoring or BBC
Worldwide. How am I affected by these announcements? The announcements on 21st March do not cover BBC Broadcast,
BBC Resources, BBC Technology Group, BBC Worldwide or the BBC's
Global News Division including BBC World Service, BBC World and BBC
Monitoring.
Global News Division is running parallel processes for review.
While not in the scope of the plans announced on 21 March, they are
working closely with their supplier departments and colleagues
across the BBC to help them deliver change.
Worldwide is seeking to achieve a doubling of profits within
two years and as part of the process of improving its businesses it
will continue to look for ways of improving efficiencies through
normal business operations.
BBC Resources and BBC Worldwide are part of separate processes
linked with the Commercial Review. BBC Technology Group is also
subject to a separate review.
Unions
44. When and how are the
unions involved? National level discussions between the BBC and the joint
unions began at the time of the original change announcements on
December 7th and have continued since. The BBC
will continue to meet with the unions as detailed, divisional
change plans emerge.
The unions are understandably very concerned about the number of
job reductions and about what the work level will be like for
people who stay in the BBC. The BBC wants to fully involve the
unions in order that such critical issues can be addressed.
Helping people though this difficult time
45. Where can I find out about
the BBC's policy on redundancy? The BBC policy, Agreed Statement : Redundancy Procedures and
Payments G5a is on the People Policy website on
Gateway. Visit People Policies on Gateway for
more info.
46. If I am made redundant,
will the BBC help me find another job? Will
there be help, like outplacement? The BBC will continue to investigate redeployment
opportunities but given the scale and phasing of the changes,
realistically there are likely to be few such opportunities.
However, BBC People is putting together a proposal to provide
'outplacement' support including things like counselling and
practical help to find another job outside the
BBC. Details of this are likely to be shared
more during April and will be available to anyone who finds
themselves being made redundant.
None of this is easy but we do want to work with everyone to make
it as fair and smooth and as quick as possible.
Each person will be dealt with as sensitively and as reasonably as
possible.
47.If more money is going to be spent on content and
programme-making, will the BBC be making a proactive effort to move
people affected by redundancy into these expanding areas through
retraining? We'll look at ways in which we can use the fantastic talents
that we've got available to us. Over time, as some of those longer
term investment plans hopefully come to fruition, there will be
opportunities for people. At the same time, we should be realistic
that we are talking about quite large numbers and the opportunities
in terms of the numbers will be limited.
48. I heard the BBC may change
its rules on redundancy, making them less favourable is this
true? This is absolutely not true. Redundancies
that are as a result of these changes will be under the BBC's
current redundancy terms and conditions which can be found on the
People Policy website on Gateway. This
includes people who may be made redundant in later years 2007 and
2008.
49. The BBC's Redundancy and
Pension are very good and many staff consider them to be a vital
part of their rewards for a job well done. As the BBC may
compulsory outsource many jobs, what guarantees are the BBC going
to make to preserve the same Redundancy and Pensions conditions for
these outsourced staff? Also
what will happen to current conditions?
If staff are transferred to a new employer under the
Transfer of Undertaking Regulations (TUPE), they would move across
on their existing terms and conditions of employment and with
protected continuity of service. The BBC's
pension arrangements do not transfer under TUPE, but future pension
provision is part of the commercial negotiations with the new
employer. Staff considerations are a high priority in any
outsourcing process from the BBC point of view and always form a
key part of any commercial negotiations with buyers. If staff did not want to transfer to a new employer, and
decided to leave the BBC instead, this would be a resignation and
staff would not be eligible for redundancy benefits - this is the
statutory position.
50. Won't the reduction
in staff numbers (and contributions) affect/weaken the pension
scheme and put pensions at risk? The BBC Pension Scheme is and will remain one of the largest
in the country. This will not be the first time that large numbers
of staff have left the BBC. The Scheme is fully funded on an
ongoing basis. This means there are sufficient funds to meet the
benefits built up to date. Contributions paid to the Scheme are to
pay future build up of pension for current staff. As staff numbers
are reduced, so the future additional pension liability is also
reduced.
51. How is redundancy pay
worked out and can anyone apply for it and if so when? BBC redundancy pay is dependant on your individual
circumstances, in particular your length of continuous service and
basic salary. Those who leave on redundancy, are under 60 and have
completed 2 years' continuous service at the BBC by the date of
leaving are eligible for a payment.
As a broad outline, BBC redundancy pay consists of one month's
basic (substantive) annual salary for each completed year of
continuous service up to a maximum of 24 months (ie 2 years' basic
salary). Acting pay and UPA are not included in redundancy pay
calculations. Full details of the redundancy
payment package is set out in Agreed Statement G5a : Redundancy
Payments and Procedures on Gateway.
Where possible, and subject to business need, the BBC will
seek volunteers for redundancy but will need to ensure that it
retains the right balance of skills and knowledge in the department
and always reserves the right to refuse requests on business
grounds. Until your manager knows the detailed restructuring
proposals for your department, we can't be certain whether it would
be possible to seek volunteers.
52. Where can I get further
BBC-wide information? From
this site where you'll find background to the changes and
latest BBC-wide news, and is updated regularly. You can also ask
BBC-wide questions by emailing mailto:[email protected].
Divisions will give outcontactpoints
for asking and receiving information about divisional
plans. 53. Why did the BBC leak the
headline plans to BBC News immediately after the Governors meeting,
while keeping staff waiting till Monday? We didn't leak the headlines, and consider the fact that
someone did leak what turned out to be not wholly accurate
information to have betrayed the trust of the BBC and shown
considerable disrespect to colleagues in the organisation.
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