1 Introduction
1. The television licence fee is a tax which the
BBC collects and is paid over to the Consolidated Fund, the Government's general
bank account[1]. The BBC
then receives from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
an annual grant of money voted by Parliament. In 2008-09, the
grant to the BBC was £3.5 billion.[2]
In short, the BBC is a public corporation funded by taxpayers.
2. The BBC was established by a Royal Charter, and
the current Charter runs from 1 January 2007 to December 2016.
Under the Charter the BBC's main object is the promotion of its Public
Purposes, including the promotion of education and learning and
the stimulation of creativity and cultural excellence. The
BBC delivers its Public Purposes primarily through the provision
of television, radio and online services.[3]
3. The BBC Executive Board is responsible for
operational management of the BBC and conducting the BBC's affairs
in a manner designed to ensure value for money. The 2006 Charter
replaced the BBC Governors with the BBC Trust. The BBC Trust
is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the
BBC, including overseeing the work of the BBC's Executive Board
and examining the value for money achieved.[4]
4. Under arrangements agreed between the Secretary
of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the BBC (see chapter
5 of this report), since 2003 the Comptroller and Auditor General
has produced 12 value for money reports on aspects of the
BBC's work and we have taken evidence from the BBC on eight
of the reports (Appendix 1). Drawing on our work and the
Comptroller and Auditor General's this reports reflects on:
- the BBC's financial management
and control (part 2)
- how the BBC's balances value for money and
creativity (part 3)
- the BBC's approach to lesson learning (part
4)
5. In addition, chapter 5 sets out the limitations
of the current arrangements for scrutiny of the BBC's use of public
money by the Comptroller and Auditor General and, therefore, Parliament.
1 National Statistics, National Accounts Classifications:
Public Sector Broadcasting, NACC 2003,/27, January 2006 Back
2
BBC Annual Report and Accounts 200809 Back
3
Broadcasting: Royal Charter for the continuance of the British
Broadcasting Corporation (October 2006, Cm 6925) Back
4
Broadcasting: An Agreement Between Her Majesty's Secretary of
State for Culture, Media and Sport and the British Broadcasting
Corporation (July 2006, Cm 6872) Back
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