Memorandum submitted by Jeremy Peat, Chairman,
BBC Audit Committee,
National Governor for Scotland, BBC
I am writing to correct a point which I made
at the CMS Select Committee hearing on 11 October.
In my responses to questions, I may have given
the impression that the National Audit Office has studied and
endorsed the BBC's proposals for a Public Value Test (PVT) to
be used to judge the contribution a new service or significant
change to an existing service would potentially make to the delivery
of public value.
In fact the focus of the NAO's work has been
on the BBC's Performance Measurement Framework, a new evidence
based system of performance measurement which aims to provide
assurance that each existing service delivers public service broadcasting
and public value. This work is an integral component of the development
of the PVT but is distinct from it. We have however been encouraged
by the NAO's conclusion that the BBC has made good progress in
developing the performance measurement framework and the important
building blocks are now in place.
Our PVT proposals have been subject to rigorous
analysis and critique by an independent firm of consultants—Spectrum
Strategy Consultants—who were commissioned by the Board
of Governors. This commission was undertaken in parallel with
the NAO's work; Spectrum discussed the issues involved with the
NAO; and given the essential connections the NAO's work helped
inform Spectrum's conclusions. But the NAP have not studied the
PVT itself nor have they endorsed it.
You may be interested to know that our revised
proposals for a PVT are about to be put to public consultation.
During this process we shall engage with a number of key stakeholders,
including commercial companies, in order to gauge the wider public's
view of its rigour and completeness. This consultation will be
completed by Christmas, and the PVT will be available subsequently
for use by the Governors and then the trust in considering whether
to approve new services or significant changes to existing services.
If at any point you would like to a fuller explanation of the
PVT, I should be happy to arrange one.
I do apologise if my responses were open to
misunderstanding, and I hope that this letter has clarified matters.
14 October 2005
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