BBC announces next steps to boost transparency

The reviews by Will Hutton and Chris Saul conclude that the BBC already has, in recent years, built high levels of transparency - for staff and licence fee payers - but recommend ways to go even further.

Will Hutton’s report finds that the BBC has led one of the most ambitious shifts around pay transparency in the public sector. The BBC is also found to be more transparent than most private sector organisations of comparable size.

The Will Hutton report also concludes that the BBC will be able to reasonably claim that it is among the leaders - if not the leader - in pay transparency in the UK, after accepting key recommendations from the reviews.

Licence fee payers will now be given more detail about the highest earners by publishing the pay of those earning over £150,000 in bands of £5,000, rather than £10,000. We’ll also be making changes so that, wherever possible, men and women doing the same job can see how their pay compares.

In his review, Chris Saul finds that the BBC’s commercial operations are at least as transparent as comparable organisations and, in certain instances, more so. He also makes recommendations on how we might improve further, although he concludes that publishing details of those earning over £150,000 should not be extended to commercial operations.

BBC Chairman David Clementi said: “I’m clear that the BBC should be at the forefront of transparency. It is only right that staff and licence fee payers alike have the information they need to see the BBC’s commitment to equality, fairness and efficiency.

“These reviews show that the BBC is already among the leaders when it comes to transparency, in both the public service and in our commercial operations. But, while we have a strong record to build on, there are also areas where we can go even further which is why we are accepting many of the recommendations.

“I believe these improvements will help us build trust, whilst also running our operations effectively and competitively.”

Tony Hall, BBC Director-General, said: “The BBC already publishes a vast amount of information about our spending, but we are determined that the BBC should lead the way when it comes to transparency. We are already more transparent than most organisations, but the additional steps we are taking today mean that we will go even further.”

The reviews into the transparency of both public service and commercial arms - BBC Studios, BBC Studioworks and BBC Global News - were commissioned by the BBC Board in April, who have responded today.

The public service review was undertaken by economist Will Hutton, Principal of Hertford College Oxford and Chair of the Big Innovation Centre’s Innovation Board. The commercial review was undertaken by Chris Saul, a former Senior Partner at Slaughter and May and now an independent adviser on governance and succession in the private sector.

The findings of the reviews are consistent with the BBC Board’s view that significant progress has been made, including to help staff understand more about what they are paid, in recent years. The changes have been wide ranging, fundamental and market leading in their scope.

In his review, Will Hutton said that he fundamentally sees the BBC as one of the leaders in the country in terms of what information is provided to staff about their pay and conditions, and his review makes many recommendations to further improve. Following these we will:

• Publish the pay of those earning over £150,000 in £5,000 rather than £10,000 bands;
• Publish more detailed charts so that men and women doing the same job can, wherever possible, see how their pay compares;
• Help staff and managers better understand the way decisions on pay are made; and
• Roll out existing unconscious bias training to all staff in the next year, to tackle the potential for the small amounts of this that may exist in any organisation.

More than 2,500 staff took part in the reviews. Mr Hutton recommends, following strong support from staff, that anonymity should remain a core principle for those earning under £150,000.

For his review, Chris Saul conducted a thorough review of comparable commercial organisations and of best practice in terms of corporate reporting. His work also drew on extensive staff consultation and evidence sessions. Following his report we will do a number of things including:

• Provide more detailed annual reporting, and greater narrative on strategy, for BBC Studios;
• Undertake further work in developing business performance measures for the commercial operations;
• Improve disclosure in relation to their governance and regulation;
• Work on how our new pay systems can and should be embedded in the commercial side of the BBC; and
• We will consider how best to give more detail on what BBC Studios spends overall on talent in annual reporting.

Will Hutton said: “Transparency promotes accountability and better decision-making. Over the last three years the BBC has been resolving long standing discrepancies in its approach to pay by making great strides in transparency over who gets paid what.

“It has further to go. The combination of determined management and the implementation of the further pay transparency measures I propose - which I am pleased that the Board promises to carry many of forward - will mean the BBC will be among the leading practitioners of pay transparency for organisations of its size in the British public and private sectors.”

Chris Saul said: “The overall transparency of the BBC’s commercial subsidiaries in the areas of governance, regulation and pay is at least as good as that found at comparable businesses - and in certain instances better.

“Nonetheless, improvement in various areas is highly desirable in order to maintain momentum and underpin trust - and I make a range of recommendations. The BBC Board’s decision to be clearer about how the subsidiaries are governed, run and performing, and to embed new pay systems, is welcome.”

BBC Press Office

Notes to editors

The BBC commissioned these reviews because we want to continue to lead the media industry on transparency, providing information to them and to licence fee payers that demonstrates our commitment to equality, fairness and efficiency.

During the reviews surveys of around 2600 staff, 20 staff workshops, face to face exchanges with a further 170 staff and academic research were used to examine and benchmark the BBC’s current position on transparency.