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BBC: Charter

rose to move, That this House takes note of the drafts of the BBC’s new charter and the agreement between the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the corporation. The noble Lord said: My Lords, I should start by reiterating that, in drawing up our plans for the future of the BBC, the Government have kept two key objectives in mind: to make sure that the BBC can keep pace with technology and harness its potential to service licence fee payers even better; and to reconnect the BBC with the citizens it serves, and who pay for it through the licence fee. In terms of the process, no charter review has been as open and transparent as the one we have been undertaking. This debate, and the one to follow shortly in the other place, represents another chapter in this process. Over that time, the public, industry and Parliament have all had the chance to put their views and concerns to the Government through a variety of means, including online, in print, at meetings and in person to Ministers. The Government have undertaken three separate periods of public consultation at key stages in the process, to which more than 10,000 people have contributed. There have been around 100,000 unique visitors to the website; we have commissioned a number of carefully targeted pieces of research; and we have participated in debates in this House and the other place. We have also sought to co-operate fully with the three Select Committee inquiries, all of which have served to inform the outcome that we are discussing today. It is true that we received far fewer responses on the latest consultation than to previous ones. That may indicate a degree of satisfaction with the broad outcome, although it is clear that for many in the sector, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. But as Michael Grade has said on more than one occasion, one needs only to skim the new charter and agreement to get a clear sense of the strength of the new framework we have put in place. It has become clear as the charter review process has progressed that the BBC’s role is more important now than it is ever been. If we want the United Kingdom to stay at the forefront of the technological revolution, with all the benefits that society and industry may take from that, then the public need to have access to the latest developments and be actively introduced to the possibilities which they present. The BBC has a critical role to play in this. It is not, of course, a new role—the BBC has, since its establishment, taken a leading role in opening up the benefits of new technology to mass audiences and in being the ““trusted guide””. But the BBC has a balance to strike. We need a BBC that continues to fulfil this traditional, transitional role at a time when much is changing—and changing fast—and builds on that by continuing to deliver services that keep pace with the rapid tempo set by technological change. We need a BBC that continues to serve licence fee payers better than it has ever done by being more accountable to them than it has ever been. If the BBC is to remain relevant and requisite in an era when audiences can choose from a myriad of different channels and services, it needs to know what its audience wants and be able to respond. We are confident that what we are proposing in the charter and agreement will enable the BBC to continue to provide the kind of high quality public service broadcasting we have been accustomed to, while ensuring that it continues to deliver value for money. We are confident that the new structures and arrangements will deliver the checks and balances that the industry has sought, as well as delivering unprecedented levels of accountability to the licence fee payer. We are confident that what we are proposing will deliver a BBC with the flexibility to prepare for the next decade. However, there is more to consider. The BBC has to operate in a market without strangling or unduly compromising the competition that is already there. It has to be clear about what it can and cannot do, and where the boundaries lie. It has to be strong and independent of government, at the heart of public service broadcasting but not at the expense of its competitors. These are very real concerns, and they are tackled head on in the charter and agreement. I should make it clear that the charter and agreement, the drafts of which were published alongside the White Paper in March, are the tools that are used to set out what the BBC’s obligations will be for the period of the next charter, and that they encapsulate how the BBC will operate over that period. The drafts before the House specifically include arrangements for making a smooth transition from the current system of governance to the new one. At the heart of these arrangements is an understanding that it will not be possible for there to be a totally clean break. The transitional arrangements are designed to be clear about who is responsible for running the BBC at any particular point. So, although the trust will be appointed before the cessation of the governors, their duties and authority will be limited essentially to those necessary to appoint the executive board and carry out reasonable preparatory work. The key date in the transitional period will be that on which the existing governors cease to be and the trust assumes its full responsibilities. Turning to the issues, we made it clear, on publication back in March 2005, that the Green Paper was firm on a number of key issues: how the BBC should be established, how it should be funded and how it should be governed. But it also went on to seek views on a number of other important issues. The White Paper, and accompanying charter and agreement, fleshed out in more detail the proposals where the decisions had already been made, and went on to make clear for the first time our decisions in these other areas.