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BBC will have to make cuts due to 'quick and dirty deal', says Lord Patten BBC will have to make cuts due to 'quick and dirty deal', says Lord Patten
(35 minutes later)
Tory peer Lord Patten has described the government’s plan to hand the BBC responsibility for free licence fees for the over-75s as “awful” and a “quick and dirty deal” that would see BBC services cut.Tory peer Lord Patten has described the government’s plan to hand the BBC responsibility for free licence fees for the over-75s as “awful” and a “quick and dirty deal” that would see BBC services cut.
“If the BBC, as I think is very likely, has in the next two or three years to make cuts because of this settlement, they won’t be because of some inadequacy on the BBC’s part, they will be because the overall settlement isn’t big enough,” he told Radio 4’s World at One.“If the BBC, as I think is very likely, has in the next two or three years to make cuts because of this settlement, they won’t be because of some inadequacy on the BBC’s part, they will be because the overall settlement isn’t big enough,” he told Radio 4’s World at One.
“How much has the BBC funding increased over the last few years – it’s been kept flat. The BBC will have to make cuts in services and this cannot be blamed on anybody except the scale of this settlement.”“How much has the BBC funding increased over the last few years – it’s been kept flat. The BBC will have to make cuts in services and this cannot be blamed on anybody except the scale of this settlement.”
Related: Tony Hall rejects claims licence fee deal turns BBC into a branch of the DWP
Former BBC Trust chair Patten also claimed the BBC had taken a quick decision to accept the deal offered by the Treasury rather than face a harsher offer from John Whittingdale’s “ideological” Department for Culture, Media and Sport.Former BBC Trust chair Patten also claimed the BBC had taken a quick decision to accept the deal offered by the Treasury rather than face a harsher offer from John Whittingdale’s “ideological” Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
“They had the possibility of a deal with the Treasury which in addition to the awful idea of the BBC taking on a subsidy for the over-75s involved some good stuff such as CPI increases in the future, like modernising the licence fee, like having to pay for the costs of broadband rollout,” he said.“They had the possibility of a deal with the Treasury which in addition to the awful idea of the BBC taking on a subsidy for the over-75s involved some good stuff such as CPI increases in the future, like modernising the licence fee, like having to pay for the costs of broadband rollout,” he said.
“On the other hand they had the ideological position of John Whittingdale and the DCMS who were threatening them with a much tougher deal.”“On the other hand they had the ideological position of John Whittingdale and the DCMS who were threatening them with a much tougher deal.”
Patten also raised the prospect that the charter renewal negotiations could see the BBC’s remit reduced, which would nullify the government’s promise to raise the licence fee in line with inflation if its scope and purpose remained the same.Patten also raised the prospect that the charter renewal negotiations could see the BBC’s remit reduced, which would nullify the government’s promise to raise the licence fee in line with inflation if its scope and purpose remained the same.
He said: “That is all contingent on the BBC being deemed to be the right kind sort of size. I think Mr Whittingdale, who follows a sort of News International line, would like the BBC to be a lot smaller. I don’t believe that is the prime minster’s position, but we live in a era where there are not just adolescent ideologues in Athens but in Westminster as well.”He said: “That is all contingent on the BBC being deemed to be the right kind sort of size. I think Mr Whittingdale, who follows a sort of News International line, would like the BBC to be a lot smaller. I don’t believe that is the prime minster’s position, but we live in a era where there are not just adolescent ideologues in Athens but in Westminster as well.”