Societal deficits

Is it time BBC Chairman Sir David Clementi gripped up the BBC Board ?  In October, the grandees gathered in Salford - and this, below, was all they had to say about equal pay for on-air talent.  Remember, it was July when over 40 women presenters wrote to the DG, and others threatened to sue for equal pay. No wonder Carrie Gracie got the hump.

"The Board noted that the World Service Pay Review, the Gender Pay Gap Report and Equal Pay Audit and Management Response had all been published since the last meeting. Coverage of the reports had been balanced and the Board thanked Anne Bulford and her team for all the work which had gone into the reviews over the summer. The next stage of the Terms and Conditions work had launched and staff had now had sight of their new grading and job family details, along with their position within the pay range for that grade."

Elsewhere on the agenda, news of yet another cunning plan from James Purnell, which secured at least a year's funding......

6.1 The Board considered a new education strategy, which had been developed with input from stakeholders and potential partners. The proposal built significantly on current provision, which is mainly based around curriculum-linked content and large-scale campaigns that tackle societal deficits. It planned to capitalise on advances in digital technology.

[redacted for future publication]

6.5 The Board approved the overall direction of the strategy. The Board agreed the first year’s funding proposal, but the strategy for subsequent years would need to return to the Board where its longer-term funding would be considered as part of the Budget and its delivery approved as part of the Annual Plan.