Brum

Here's a Freedom of Information response from the BBC about Birmingham, in answer to a question posed last December. (The BBC can add the cost of an internal review to the move's cost code, on top of average redundancy payouts of £50k !)

In 2014, the BBC formulated a new strategy for its Birmingham operations. In addition to retaining the successful Drama Village, the Mailbox was identified as the new centre for BBC People, the Academy, Internal Communications and Workplace & Safety leading to the relocation of a number of roles from London. 

Our original commitment was to 100 roles but, as the project developed and in line with our commitment to the site, more roles came into scope and over 150 roles were identified as in scope to move. The investment in this relocation was an essential part of the BBC’s property strategy, allowing us to exit a building in West London and deliver significant savings into the future. 

Please find below responses to each part of your request. Please note: the figures in response to your questions are taken as at the end of November; and the roles recruited were sometimes short term, project-based and/or taken by people who had relocated, so the figures provided in response to parts 1 and 5 of your request are not mutually exclusive and the recruitment for the roles yet to be filled is still ongoing. 

1. How many staff relocated to Birmingham (out of the 100 identified) ?
34
2. How many were re-deployed elsewhere in the BBC ?
9 individuals have been permanently redeployed within the BBC.
3. How many were made redundant ?
62
4. How much did the redundancy costs amount to ?
£3.1 million
5. How many of the 100 roles have had to be recruited in Birmingham ?
86 roles have been recruited to in Birmingham by relocating departments. 

If you plan to publish or broadcast a story using the information provided in this response please include the following statement from the BBC: A BBC spokesperson said: ‘The creation of 150 roles in Birmingham has exceeded our initial commitment of 100 jobs in the city. Our site at the Mailbox is now nearly at full capacity with over 700 staff. The BBC is committed to having a significant presence in Birmingham and we’re building a vibrant and sustainable base for the BBC’s future here. By the end of 15/16 Midlands spend will be in excess of £125m with the all the changes being made in BBC Birmingham, in difficult economic circumstances. This is more than 50% up on where we were a couple of years ago.’