BBC director general says funding debate to take place after election
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Version 0 of 1. BBC director general Tony Hall has warned against the consequences of a prevailing political climate in which he said many people told him the licence fee would be “flat or cut in real terms” in its next funding settlement. Hall said the corporation would lay out the consequences of a further cut in funding for the BBC’s channels and services after the May general election, so that there could be an “informed public debate”. “I think a lot of people that I talk to out there in the political environment would say, if you could have a licence fee which is flat or cut in real terms, that is kind of where you are going,” Hall told The Media Show on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday. “My case is a confident BBC can offer a huge amount; invest in the BBC and it can do a huge amount not only for this country but globally as well,” said Hall. We are so important – I say this with no hint of arrogance, just reflecting a fact – to this country “After the election, we will lay out the consequences of investing in the BBC and cutting the BBC. We are so important – I say this with no hint of arrogance, just reflecting a fact – to this country. “A freeze [in funding] would mean all sorts of decisions which I think the public should know about before we are forced to take them. We will lay out the options for people to talk about and discuss [after the election].” The BBC will begin formal negotiations with the government after the May election on a new royal charter, governing its remit and scope, and funding deal, to run for 10 years from 2017. Hall said was doing “more for less” since the 2010 funding settlement in which the licence fee was frozen at £145.50 a year until 2017 and the corporation took on a range of new funding responsibilities, including the World Service and S4C. “It’s really important people know that,” he said. Asked about BBC Trust chair Rona Fairhead’s proposal to axe the trust and hand regulation of the corporation to an external body alongside a beefed-up unitary board with a non-executive chairman, Hall said: “It’s not for me to determine how we are regulated. “That is stuff that has got to be discussed come charter renewal. Of course it could work but there are lots of other models people could come up with.” Hall said he was keen the debate did not get “hooked on governance” and could focus on the BBC’s funding and its channels and services. Sir Michael Lyons, the first chair of the BBC Trust, told The Media Show there was a danger that Fairhead’s proposals could make governance of the corporation even more complicated than it already was. “I spent four years trying to make it work and it would be very unfortunate if we failed to learn the lessons of what had been done over that period,” he said. “I have no argument with Rona Fairhead. What she is trying to do is open up the argument and she is offering more than one view for further discussion. There is no unique governance model, the issue here is who does what. One of the dangers from some of Rona’s suggestions … is making it even more complex still.” Related: BBC Trust chair calls for external oversight of corporation Hall said the BBC had done a lot more to be efficient but admitted it had not met 2011 targets to reduce senior management.The Media Show presenter Steve Hewlett said the 2011 targets, set before Hall became director general, would have cut senior managers to 220 but the latest figures, for September last year, suggested the figure was 388. Hall said the BBC had cut senior management by a third in that time and added: “We have got more work to do on that but I am on the case.” He said the UK was “blessed” with a mixed broadcasting ecology of a licence fee funded BBC, advertiser funded channels such as ITV and Channel 4 and subscription services such as Sky. “You mess with that at your peril,” he added. |