Tuesday 24 May 2005
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Ladies and gentlemen, the document we are launching today sets out
the 大象传媒 Board of Governors' detailed response, reflecting the interests
of licence-fee payers, to the proposals contained in the Green Paper.
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In broad terms, we are positive about the Green Paper. Occasionally
we feel it does not go far enough. And there are areas where it raises
significant questions on which we want to make our own views clear.
But in general terms we welcome it.
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What I'd like to do this morning is to outline the main points of our
response in four key areas.
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These are:
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the role of the 大象传媒
how to fund the Corporation
issues of governance, regulation and accountability
and finally, the question of the scale and scope of the 大象传媒
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First, the role of the 大象传媒.
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The Green Paper outlines a set of purposes for the 大象传媒 - sustaining
citizenship, education and culture; serving different communities; playing
a global role and, for the next Charter period, building Digital Britain.
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On behalf of the 大象传媒, the Governors accept these purposes.
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They give us - and the licence-fee payers - a clear yardstick against
which to measure how well the 大象传媒 is delivering.
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The 大象传媒 should be judged against results. The assessment framework
we are developing - based on reach; quality and distinctiveness; audience
impact; and value for money - will enable us to do this.
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The results of our assessments will be published - further evidence
of a more open and transparent 大象传媒.
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Next: the question of how best to fund the 大象传媒.
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We welcome the decision to grant a new Charter for ten years and to
confirm licence-fee funding for the whole of that period.
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The licence fee is central to the whole idea of the 大象传媒 as we know
it. We feel strongly that the fundamental strengths of the licence fee
system will remain valid - if not even more valid - in the fully digital
world to come.
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So while we accept that the funding issue may be revisited by a future
Government, we would want it to recognise that the licence fee is integral
to what the 大象传媒 delivers for its licence-fee payers: independence, universal
availability, and pure focus on the public interest.
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And we would also suggest to Government that it makes good common
sense to await completion of digital switchover before embarking on
the next funding review.
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There is one funding question raised by the Green Paper on which we
remain fundamentally opposed.
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This is the idea of contestability, of top-slicing the licence fee.
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This would break the clear and well-understood line of accountability
between the 大象传媒 and the licence-fee payer.
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It runs entirely counter to the need to increase accountability, a
key emphasis in the Green Paper.
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It would pose a threat to the political independence of the 大象传媒, handing
a punitive fiscal sword of Damocles to any unscrupulous government that
wanted to bring the 大象传媒 to heel.
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And it would seriously weaken the 大象传媒's ability to invest in content
at a time when the provision of public service programming from other
public service providers is in doubt.
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Using the licence fee to solve a theoretical future deficit in PSB
provision is a thoroughly bad idea. Not good news for viewers and listeners.
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The next area of response I want to outline concerns governance, accountability
and regulation.
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The present board of Governors accept the Government's decision to
change the way the 大象传媒 is governed. We would have preferred that the
radical changes we have already made had been given a proper chance
to prove themselves.
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But it is difficult to object to the Government's new model since
it clearly does meet the principles we ourselves laid down at the start
of the debate. The future model will increase public confidence by creating
a clear separation between, on the one hand, the management of the 大象传媒
and, on the other, the new Trust charged with setting 大象传媒 strategy and
holding management to account.
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This model maintains the 大象传媒's independence and we are confident it
can be implemented so that, maybe for the first time, licence-fee payers
can be totally comfortable that their interests are the prime consideration
for the Board, not the interests of the institution itself.
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On the detail of the plan: we agree that the new Trust should probably
not have more than 12 members. We also feel the Trustees should not
be chosen strictly on the basis that they represent certain interest
groups, but rather for the broad range of skills and expertise that
they bring.
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There is one exception to this. In the new age of devolution, we do
think it's vital that the whole UK is heard in the Trust's deliberations.
Therefore we are proposing that there should be a Trustee from each
nation, connected to the accountability structures the Trust decides
to create in each nation. Such 'ex officio' Trustees would of course
have to understand that their primary responsibility is to represent
ALL licence-fee payers, not just their national constituents.
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On the subject of accountability, it is clear in the modern age of
governance that the 大象传媒 must be more open and transparent; particularly
in the way it listens to audiences and consults on changes.
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The Governors have already approved a complete revamp of the 大象传媒's
complaints procedures to increase their openness and fairness. But we
are looking to go further, by improving the processes for handling appeals,
and we will soon consult on the proposed changes.
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We also accept the Green Paper conclusion that the status quo - long
debated, and eventually agreed in the Communication Act (2003) in terms
of the role of Ofcom in the affairs of the 大象传媒 - is the right option.
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We certainly recognise Ofcom's value in setting common standards across
broadcasting in many areas, but the 大象传媒 has a unique mission and a unique
funding mechanism. Delivering its remit should be the responsibility
of its own unique governance body; clearly the Government agrees that
there is a role for the Trust AND a defined role for Ofcom - which is,
after all, a private sector economic regulator.
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Lastly, on the scale and scope of the 大象传媒:
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We accept the Green Paper proposal for increased flexibility when it
comes to adding or removing services in response to changing audience
expectations and technologies.
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Indeed we feel the Green Paper rather under-estimates the potential
impact of new technologies in the years ahead.
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This is not just a matter of the switchover to digital television.
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Digital radio, digital satellite, HDTV, mobile platforms,
pod-casting, on-demand delivery via broadband - these, and no doubt
many more technologies as yet unveiled - also have the potential to
transform the media landscape and provide new ways to build public value.
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So it is vital that the 大象传媒 remains agile, able to respond flexibly,
on behalf of licence-fee payers, to the new opportunities that open
up and the new ways that licence-fee payers wish to enjoy 大象传媒 content.
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The introduction of our new Public Value Test will ensure that any
proposed new service, or substantial change to an existing service,
is subject to rigorous and objective scrutiny, both in terms of audience
need and of possible market impact - BEFORE any decision is made by
the Trust.
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The Green Paper challenges the 大象传媒 to ensure that its contribution
to UK production furthers the economic development of the UK beyond
London. As you know, the 大象传媒 has committed itself to a major shift of
production from the 大象传媒 to the rest of the UK, with a new broadcast
centre in Manchester and large increases to network investment in Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland - and a new tier of ultra-local services
across the UK. All of the detail of this agreed policy is, of course,
subject to rigorous value for money testing by the governors.
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In addition, the 大象传媒 has spelled out, in terms, its commitment to supporting
independent production. These are clear benefits for licence fee payers
in ensuring that the 大象传媒 attracts and sustains the best ideas from both
in-house production and from the independent sector, on a fair and equal
basis of opportunity.
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The governors have confidence that the proposal for a WOCC - a window
of creative competition - is the best way to open up 大象传媒 commissioning
and the licence fee to independent producers, while maintaining a sustainable
in-house production base with all the benefits that brings: including,
not least, the training it provides across the broadcast industry. It
will only work if there is a level playing field between in-house and
independent commissioning. The governors will police this rigorously
- by which I mean zero tolerance.
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In the near future, the Board will consider detailed plans from management
designed to ensure meritocracy and transparency in the way the 大象传媒 commissions
all output. The Board will want to ensure that the 大象传媒 is fair to all
the stakeholders and that the needs and interests of licence-fee payers
are paramount.
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In Radio, the voluntary ten per cent quota has been extended, releasing
a further 3,000 hours for independent commissioning. We do not believe
there is a need to make the radio quota mandatory.
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On the 大象传媒's commercial activities, I was particularly pleased to
see the Green Paper's acknowledgement that they bring significant benefits
to licence-fee payers. The 大象传媒 has recently taken steps to withdraw
from activities that are not related to its core public purposes.
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Commercial efficiency is the primary purpose of the 大象传媒's activities
in this area, but we accept that the other criteria set out in the Green
Paper must define the scope and manner in which the 大象传媒 commercial activities
are undertaken.
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It is the licence-fee payers' investment that has created the intellectual
properties that drive these commercial revenues, and they are entitled
to a proper return on that investment.
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But licence-fee payers are consumers in the wider market-place too,
and the Board will wish to ensure that the 大象传媒's impact on that wider
market-place does not inhibit consumer choice.
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Well, those are the main outlines of our response to the Green Paper.
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During the ten years of the 大象传媒's next Charter, the broadcasting landscape
faces revolutionary change. The responsibility of the 大象传媒 Governors
now, and of the 大象传媒 Trustees in the future, is to ensure that the interests
of licence-fee payers are properly represented and protected through
the huge changes ahead.
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The 大象传媒 welcomes the Green Paper and its vision of a strong and independent
大象传媒 - a 大象传媒 putting its creative energies at the service of the public,
helping to lead Britain into the next phase of the digital revolution,
and working to ensure that the benefits of that revolution are available
to everyone.
