BBC GOVERNANCE NEEDS DIFFERENT BODIES NOT DIFFERENT HATS

Commenting on the publication of the BBC’s Annual Report and Accounts, Don commented:

“In this report the Governors have done an excellent job wearing their regulation hats rather than their promotion hats.

“But the faults in the BBC’s governance cannot be solved by juggling hats.

“We need to separate the two roles of the Governors by establishing a board of trustees to oversee BBC management and a new, separate regulator to regulate all public service broadcasters.”

Commenting on the publication of the BBC’s Annual Report and Accounts, Don Foster MP, Shadow Liberal Democrat Culture, Media and Sports Secretary, commented:

“In this report the Governors have done an excellent job wearing their regulation hats rather than their promotion hats.

“But the faults in the BBC’s governance cannot be solved by juggling hats.

“We need to separate the two roles of the Governors by establishing a board of trustees to oversee BBC management and a new, separate regulator to regulate all public service broadcasters.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The BBC’s Annual Report and Accounts 2003/2004 is published today.

2. It states in the Chairman’s opening remarks that:

“Traditionally the Annual Report and Accounts has been as much about marketing the BBC as holding it to account – and as much about management’s view of its own performance as about the Governors’ views of management’s performance.

“This Annual Report is different. It is the first step in turning the BBC’s Annual Report into a document owned by the Governors, which evaluates the performance of BBC management against publicly stated objectives and commitments.”

[p.2, BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2003/4]

This article published: 13/07/2023

Published by Bath Liberal Democrats, 31 James St West, Bath, BA1 2BT. Printed and hosted by JPC Infonet, 2 St Georges Works, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8AA. Your Privacy.