Monday, March 26, 2018

Open

The latest published BBC Board minutes (from December) talk extensively about 'updates', none of which are shared with the licence-fee payers.

The BBC has turned to Ernst &Young to re-baseline licence fee evasion - to set a sort of intractable rump of non-payers, agreed between the BBC and the people it pays to make you stump up. In 2015/6 the estimated evasion rate was between 6.2% and 7.2%, with higher levels in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The target set for collectors Capita was to get that down to 3.95% by 2020. Now the Board have agreed a new target, but we can't be told, apparently. Each percentage point is worth around £40m.

Minutes about plans for Maida Vale, the old roller-skating pavilion that is now the home base of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, are redacted - though we are told, unsurprisingly, that the crumbly shell requires significant short-term and medium-term investment if it is to remain viable. Minutes about sports contract renewals are redacted.

We are given the full works about the role of "a qualified person" who is capable of deciding when BBC data and documents should stay private under Freedom of Information rules which allow an exception to protect free and frank discussion, advice and effective conduct of public affairs. The Board decided that they should all be qualified persons. Hurrah.

In the regular list of broadcasting triumphs, the minutes note: "James Purnell updated the Board on some of the Radio highlights over the period, which included David Jacobi reading from Laurie Lee’s Village Christmas." I think you'll find that's Derek, Jim.

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