The BBC is a national institution, paid for by the public. It will have spent more than £30 billion of public money over the current Charter period. It is vital that the BBC ensures value for money for the taxpayer. So I am pleased that the Government decided to freeze the licence fee at its 2010 level of £145.50 until the end of the current BBC Charter period in 2016. The licence fee settlement runs to April 2017, and the Charter is in place until the end of 2016. The Charter and Agreement, including the level of the licence fee required to deliver on the BBC’s public purposes, will be reviewed before the end of 2016.
The cost of £145.50 is a considerable amount of money for many people, and that is why I am glad pressure is being put on the BBC to become much more efficient. The BBC plans to cut annual costs by £700 million by the end of 2016-17 (compared to its 2011-12 funding plans) through a savings programme called Delivering Quality First.
There are important issues to consider as we enter the process of reviewing the BBC’s Charter. The Government recently set out a consultation which marks the start of the Charter Review process and I firmly believe that everyone must be able to have their say on how well they think that money is spent. This consultation gives people that opportunity and it also invites them to comment on how the BBC is governed. It is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bbc-charter-review-public-c…
This consultation, combined with the publication of the Government’s topics for debate, is an important first step in an open and thorough Charter Review.
By Patrick McLoughlin on October 12, 2015