Counting heads

As we approach our first formal glimpses of the BBC cuts required by Mark Thompson's licence fee deal with the Coalition, let's get some issues out of the way in terms of common currency. How many people work for the BBC ?

And we're off into the land of smoke and mirrors. Here's some figures from the BBC Trust. 

Year end 2006 18,860
Year end 2007 17,914
Year end 2008 17,677
Year end 2009 17,078
Year end 2010 17,238

In July 2011, the Mail put this figure at 17,242. This is not the actual headcount, but a calculation of "full-time equivalent posts", lumping together people who work part-time until they add up to one full salary position. Because part-time working, job sharing etc is encouraged at the BBC, there's a different figure for total publicly-funded staff or fixed contract employees, which is, of course, a bigger number. In 2005, it was 23,088. In December 2010 it stood at 20,753. In August 2011 it was 20,536.

But both figures miss a substantial number of people who work for the BBC. They do not include those employed by BBC Studios & Post Production Ltd, UKTV, BBC World, BBC Worldwide Ltd, The World Service Trust (around 500 employees) and BBC Children in Need.

They do not include those who work year in, year out for the BBC's contractors - caterers, cleaners, security staff; the audience call centres in Belfast, the finance staff in Cardiff, the computer staff working for Siemens/Atos Origin, the licence fee collectors, the HR helpline etc.  And they don't include those who have long-term deals to provide the BBC with programmes - Met Office weather forecasters, Red Bee making trails and running play-out, and indies around the UK who make up 30% of the tv and radio programmes carried on the various channels.

A respected colleague said to me last week that, properly counted, "The BBC" has never been bigger, despite the so-called efficiencies trumpeted under the last licence-fee deal.  Certainly, there has never been more output.

So scrutinise carefully whatever figures come out this week.  And remember Thommo likes talking tough. In 2004, when he rejoined Auntie as DG, he developed a plan to cut or outsource 6,000 jobs by 2008.  In 2005, he announced plans to cut 3,780 jobs. The figures for Full Time Equivalent staff have fallen by just 1,618 from 2006.  If you include part-timers, the figure has fallen by 3,500 from 2005. It doesn't add up - and it probably won't this week.