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In February of this year, John Whittingdale, the Chairman of the Commons Committee on Culture, Media and Sport called for a 'full and frank debate' on the future of the BBC and all aspects of the broadcaster. In order for this to happen, he said, 'we are calling on Government to seek cross-party support for setting up an independent review panel now on the 2017 Charter, so that the process is as thorough, open and democratic as it can be.'
Most observers, me included, assumed that this would mean a debate about what services we, the public, want the BBC to provide. Then there would be a proper costing of them, before another period of consultation when licence fee payers would be able to discuss what they were prepared to pay and how.
However, in a pre-budget coup the Chancellor, George Osborne, decided to divert the responsibility for an aspect of Government social policy, the provision of free TV licences to the over 75s, to the BBC at an initial cost of around a fifth of the BBC’s income. Some critics said it made the Corporation an arm of the Department of Work and Pensions.
The Director General of the BBC, Tony Hall, insists that this added responsibility is a part of a good deal for the BBC, emphasising that the terms of the deal also allow the £145.50 licence fee to increase in line with inflation and that people who only watch catch-up television through BBC iPlayer will, in future, have to pay the licence fee too.The BBC will also save £150 million when they no longer have to pay to aid the implementation of superfast broadband. And Tony Hall suggests there may be more money available for output – at least in the short term.
The DG has defended the deal but not only was there no public debate, the Chair of the BBC Trust, Rona Fairhead, was unable to represent your interests, which is basically what she is there for.
She wrote an open letter to George Osborne and the Culture Secretary, the same John Whittingdale who five months earlier was calling for a full debate, saying, 'The Trust has a specific duty to represent the interests of licence fee payers. We are disappointed that they have not being given any say in major decisions about the BBC’s future funding'.
I think she probably used a stronger word than 'disappointed' in private.
The response from some of the senior figures involved in broadcasting, past and present, has been highly critical.
'The worst form of dodgy Whitehall accounting', said the former BBC Chairman, the Conservative Sir Christopher Bland.
'It’s blown a hole through the Charter process', said the long serving Tory Cabinet member Lord Fowler.
'I am horrified about this process', said Diane Coyle, until recently acting Chair of the BBC Trust, who added that when a similar deal was proposed in 2010 she along with other trustees and the then Director General, Mark Thompson, threatened to resign.
Well, here at Feedback we will do our best to let you know what is going on as the Corporation renegotiates its Charter and this week some of you have been telling us what you think of the licence fee deal and the way in which it was done.
In this week’s programme we had the first salvo from listeners. I am sure it will not be the last.
ROGER BOLTON
