Category: ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Date: 02.03.2005
Printable version
The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ today welcomed the Government's proposal for a new 10 year Charter
from 2007 and continued secure funding through the licence fee, as detailed
in the Green Paper published by the Secretary of State for Culture,
Media and Sport.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Chairman, Michael Grade, said: "On behalf of everyone
at the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, I welcome the Government's proposal for a 10 year Charter
and secure funding via the licence fee. This is a strong endorsement
of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ as the cornerstone of public service broadcasting in the
UK now, and through digital switchover.
"On behalf of the Board of Governors, I accept the Government's conclusions
for future governance of the Corporation.
"It is regrettable that our own reforms have not had time to prove
themselves. But it is important that the issue has now been settled
ahead of the new Charter, providing the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ with the necessary certainty
and stability.
"In the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s Building Public Value (BPV) manifesto, published last
summer, we set out a series of radical steps to modernise ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ governance,
including the creation of an independent Governance Unit, the introduction
of service licences and a stringent public value test.
"These are being implemented in full and are already having the
desired effect.
"For the first time in the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s history, there is now a clear distinction
and appropriate separation between governance and management, and a
greater emphasis on objective, evidence-based scrutiny of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ activities.
"I recognise that our changes have been essentially more behavioural
than structural. We had hoped that these crucial reforms would be allowed
time to prove their worth. However, we recognise that the consensus
in the public debate has been to move beyond behavioural changes and
to buttress them with a new structure.
"The Government's decision to opt for its new Trust model heralds the
biggest change in the governance of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ in 77 years. It is a radical
departure, which we have measured against our five principles of governance:
independence
rigorous stewardship of public money
accountability to licence fee payers
clarity of roles and
practicality
"The Board has concluded that the Trust broadly meets those principles
and is committed to ensuring an effective and efficient transition to
the new system.
"It would be my intention to appoint the Director-General to chair
the new Executive Board."
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Director-General Mark Thompson said: "The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
faces exciting and daunting new challenges over the next decade.
"The Green Paper endorses the ambitious public purposes we set
out in Building Public Value, adding for the first time an explicit
purpose for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ to lead the building of digital Britain.
"A 10 year Charter and secure funding for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ will give us
the right foundation on which to take on these challenges.
"Audience expectations are rising all the time and it's hard to
predict what platforms, technology and innovations might emerge between
now and 2016.
"But the assurance that original, British content, consistently
aiming for excellence, from the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ will be a guaranteed fixture of
any future landscape is good news for the industry and our audiences.
"Over the coming months, as the Charter debate continues, we intend
to show by our actions that we are committed to creating a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ fit for
the future, open to new technologies and new ways of serving our audiences,
with fair access to the best ideas from wherever they come, drawing
on talent from the whole UK, with transparent and coherent commercial
activities and with rigorous plans to deliver the best possible value
to licence-payers.
"It is equally important that as the Executive Board of a public service
broadcaster, funded by the licence fee, we should be properly supervised
and held accountable for our decisions.
"The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s management endorses the Governors' constructive response
to the Government's decision on how the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ should be governed.
"There are challenges ahead, but also opportunities, including the
chance to bring an even wider range of skills and experience to bear
on the running of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ through the presence of non-executives on
the new Executive Board.
"My executive colleagues and I will fully play our part to implement
the new arrangements and make them work in the interests of licence
payers."
