Culture select committee report expected to back axing of BBC Trust
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Version 0 of 1. MPs on the Commons culture, media and sport select committee are expected to join the growing chorus calling for the BBC Trust, the corporation’s governance and regulatory body chaired by the recently arrived Rona Fairhead, to be scrapped. The committee, chaired by Conservative MP John Whittingdale, is expected to recommend that the trust be abolished in its upcoming report on the future of the BBC. It is understood that committee members have mostly been receptive to an idea for the BBC to be governed instead by a unitary board – a single board of directors comprising executive and non-executive directors, overseen by a single chairman. The committee took evidence from a wide range of witnesses, including BBC director general Tony Hall, from across the media over several months last year. Other suggestions understood to have been considered by the committee include the trust’s powers being transferred to media regulator Ofcom or some kind of BBC commission. However, there is some good news for the corporation as it is thought that the report will broadly give its backing to the continuation of the licence fee. Although the concept of a licence fee is backed by the majority of the committee, they have also been considering Germany’s public service broadcasting funding model. This involves a household broadcasting levy, which is specific to a home, rather than a device such as a television set. The idea could be attractive to the government as it has cut evasion in Germany, so may also address the thorny issue of parliamentary backing for decriminalising non-payment of the BBC licence fee. The BBC Trust, which was conceived a decade ago, came under fire during evidence given to the committee late last year. When culture secretary Sajid Javid appeared before the committee in October, he said there are issues around governance, “particularly around accountability”, and he was not sure if the changes in governance made to date would prove effective. The trust launched in 2007, a timely compromise to the tricky situation the BBC found itself in following the Hutton inquiry, when its predecessor, the board of governors, came under fire for being both the corporation’s cheerleader and regulator (a criticism the trust has also subsequently faced). In recent years, it has been the target of widespread criticism, including for its handling of the Jimmy Savile scandal, the abrupt departure of former BBC director general George Entwistle, and excessive redundancy payments to senior executives. The committee’s report is due out within the next couple of weeks. Whittingdale declined to comment about its contents. A BBC Trust spokeswoman said: “We aren’t going to speculate about the contents of a future committee report. Governance will be debated at the time of charter review, along with a whole range of other issues and we will want to participate in that discussion. “We have been clear both that the BBC’s independence needs to be protected and that there must be strong oversight and regulation of the corporation in the interests of licence fee payers.” • To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email media@theguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook. |