21 March
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Introduction
It is a pleasure to be here, and thank you for inviting me to speak to you today.
Before I begin, I would like to echo the thoughts already expressed this evening about Jocelyn and her family as they come to terms with the passing away of Jocelyn's husband, Andrew. I've known Jocelyn for some time and long admired her courage and determination. That Voice of the Listener and Viewer is such a respected organisation stands as testament to her courage and dedication. I'm sure that all our thoughts are with her at this difficult time.
This is the first time I've had the opportunity to talk about the White Paper since it was published last week and I can think of no better group of people to be doing that with than the Voice of the Listener and Viewer.
You are a unique organisation, I believe founded in 1983 about Radio 4, and it is appropriate that I am speaking to you first about the White Paper.
We've called the White Paper "A Public Service for all: the BBC in the digital age". And that really does sum up our ambition. The BBC is unique; there is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world.
In the UK, the only organisation that comes close to it is the NHS.
But it is worth reflecting on the dramatic developments since your successful campaign to retain Radio 4's broad range of content in 1983.
Things were rather different then. Phil Collins and Kajagoogoo hit number one.
Channel 4 was barely a year old.
There was hardly an independent production sector to speak of.
Portable media meant the Walkman.
Windows were things you look out of rather than a computer system.
Having a mobile phone meant you could carry it around the house, not having something that was involved in every part of our lives
Today, we live in the digital age.
For years, we've all been hearing about convergence. But I think 2006 will be seen as the year when convergence became old hat. This is partly because it's now gone from being a kind of technological prediction to being a consumer reality. Consumers are now watching television on their telephone, listening to radio on their television, and indeed getting television, film, music, radio and telephone calls over the Internet.
The interesting thing is that consumers aren't interested in convergence. They're very interested in convenience. But the erosion of historical frontiers between sectors is of much less interest. But they care about being able to access the content they want, when they want it, where they want it.
This is true of Radio 4 podcasts and Desperate Housewives on the ipod.
This pace of change is going to keep on accelerating. As we say in the White Paper,"broadcasting in 2016 will bear little relation to today's media world".
Some people have said that given we recognise that change is happening it is surprising that we have given the BBC a ten-year charter. In Parliament last week, some described this as a missed opportunity.
Tonight, I want to explain why we disagree and explain a quite conscious decision.
Our aim in the White Paper has been to take the best of the analogue world - the BBC that produced landmarks from Monty Python to Panorama via Planet Earth – into the digital age.
We want to sustain the BBC's vital role in providing high quality public service broadcasting and ensure that the BBC continues to deliver value for money.
So, over the next ten years the BBC must have the flexibility to prepare for a world as different from today as 2006 is from 1996. By 2016 the BBC needs to be able to demonstrate that it is as relevant and requisite as ever. If it is to continue to deliver its public service remit, it needs to develop a consensus around its role which is as deeply shared as that which exists today around the NHS.
Some would say that because technology is changing, we should change the BBC's mission – they say that the BBC will become an anachronism. Of course, they do have a point: if the BBC were kept in an analogue ghetto by regulation, it might quickly be left behind, as consumers started to access content through technologies on which the BBC was not available.
This issue is not new: indeed as long ago as 1996, the Economist wrote a leader predictin the BBC would be an anachronism well before 2007. That hasn't happened: our consumer research of the public found that the BBC still has 75% satisfaction ratings.
That satisfaction rating reflects the enduring value of the BBC's mission. The BBC's place in our culture has sprung from its role in informing, educating and entertaining us. But that place is not tied to a single technology. Radio was the cradle of the BBC; but its history has been one of adapting to the new technologies.
Now of course that does not mean the BBC should make content for every technology. But it does mean that it should use the technologies that best allow it to deliver its mission. The BBC has done that successfully in the last Charter period. Our view is that there is real potential for them to do that again in the next Charter period. That is why we have given the BBC the stability of a 10 year Charter, funded by the licence fee.
In short we have responded to the challenge of technological change with a framework of regulatory stability and clarity. We don't know what the media market will look like in ten years. We don't know how the BBC will need to develop in order to remain relevant in that market. But we do want it to be able to stay relevant, and to continue reaching audiences. We believe that giving the BBC the flexibility to develop within a stable, clear framework gives it the best chance of doing so.
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Consultation and research
Before I talk about the details of the White Paper, I would like to speak a little about the consultation and research that has helped to shape our policy.
This Charter Review process has been the most ambitious ever. As Tessa has said before, those who pay for the BBC should have the opportunity to have a say in its future.
We've been delighted to have received over 10,000 responses from the public and interested stakeholders over two phases of consultation.
There have been over 100,000 unique visitors to the Charter Review website since 2004.
And we've run 5 separate research projects.
This consultation has put the public in the driving seat of shaping the future of the BBC.
For example, many members of the public commented on the lack of mention of entertainment in the Green Paper and I know this was a major point that you raised in your response.
And we've taken action to address this in the White Paper. I believe that entertainment is a vital part of the BBC's mission. But just as the BBC itself is unique, the BBC's programmes and services should provide something new, innovative and distinctively BBC.
It's only been a week since we launched the White Paper and already we've received comments on this from members of the public.
For example one e-mail response, on the very day of publication, said:
"I was disturbed by the original format of the consultation document which failed to mention ENTERTAINMENT. I see now that this has been rectified and I am happy with the outcome".
My officials assure me they have checked and it wasn't from a Mr. M Thompson or a Mr. M Grade!
White Paper – key messages
So, what else does the White Paper say?
Throughout the whole Charter Review process, we've been flexible about the means, but not about the ends.
In the Green Paper, we made clear that we wanted the BBC to remain at the heart of public service broadcasting.
That we wanted a BBC independent and strong. And I'm pleased to have your support on this.
In an era of rapid change we have to set the broad aims within which the BBC should operate but we've not tried to double guess the detail. Editorial decisions are for the BBC, not for us.
We also need to recognise that the BBC should not prevent the development of a thriving market. Over the years, in television for example, the public has increasingly benefited from the choice and competition created by Channel 3, then 4, and then Five. And now more recently there is a growing multi channel market. There are now more homes subscribing to Sky's pay TV service than homes relying on analogue terrestrial. That is clearly a good thing; viewers and listeners have a bigger choice of programmes and channels than they've ever had. And the BBC's success should not be unfairly at the expense of its competitors. The goal of policy is not a strong BBC for its own sake, but a framework that delivers the interests of consumers and citizens. The BBC is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
Governance and Accountability
And we've embodied that in the changes. The White Paper confirms the new governance structures for the BBC.
Everyone broadly agrees that the BBC's system of governance had to change.
The Board of Governors was set up to provide oversight for a single radio station and as Clement Atlee once remarked that the British are particularly adept at putting old wine into new bottles. And the Board of Governors served the BBC well for many years.
But realistically the system that exists now was close to breakdown.
For too long the BBC Governors have been both defendant and jury – guarding the BBC's independence as well as cheerleading the BBC management.
So that is why we decided to abolish the existing board of Governors and replace them with two new bodies: the BBC Trust and the Executive Board.
The Trust will be the voice of the licence fee payer. Every move it makes will need to be informed by the interests of the public.
Now we agree with you that the Trust should have no more than 12 members and we've said that the only specified members should be those that represent the nations of the UK.
We also agree that the old complaints procedure needed to be beefed up. The proposals in the White Paper set out requirements for a complaints regime that will help the Trust keep in touch with the public's view and ensure that complainants have the same access as the BBC managers when adjudicating on complaints.
I know that you were cautious in your response to some of our proposals around the role of Ofcom. I hope I can reassure you about the decisions we have taken.
We have said that Ofcom should have a leading role in assessing the market impact of new services and significant changes to existing services. We believe Ofcom has the expertise and will be trusted to do this as effectively as possible. But the Trust will take the decision on which services should go ahead. They will be uniquely placed to make that trade off.
And I know that you've had concerns about the use of Non-Executive Directors on the BBC Executive board. The job of the Non-Executive Director is to act as a critical friend to the board, much like the kind of support provided by the current Governors but which would otherwise have been lost with the separation between the Trust and the Board.
I want to reassure you that our proposals have been scrutinised to ensure that the BBC is sheltered from undue external pressures and able to uphold the interest of licence fee payers.
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BBC Role and Purposes
The original Reithan purposes of "inform, educate and entertain" - ('in that order' Lord Reith used to growl) - are still central today but, as we set out in both the Green and the White Paper, in today's complex world we need to be clearer than ever before about what the BBC is for and what makes it unique.
So the White Paper confirms five new purposes:
Sustaining citizenship and civil society
Promoting education and learning
Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
Reflecting the UK, its nations, regions and communities
Bringing the world to the UK and the UK to the world
And there is a sixth special purpose of 'Building Digital Britain'.
Digital Switchover
I also know there were some particular concerns about this sixth purpose. Let me answer those if I may.
We're already the world-leader in digital television. 70% of homes have digital television today. Last year was a record year in the number of households getting digital TV. We have announced our commitment to make all of the nation's television digital, by 2012.
The BBC has been consistently at the forefront of technology. It was set up in 1923 to provide content for a new technology – the wireless. Since then, it has helped the introduction of black and white, then colour television, of FM radio, then digital television, digital radio, the Internet and now podcasts and on-demand radio. It has provided this role of technological leadership both by creating programmes for these technologies, but also by acting as a trusted guide for licence fee payers. Like VLV we want to see that continue. As I said the BBC should not be boxed into an analogue or old technology ghetto.
That's why we think it is important that the BBC – as it has done with Freeview and the development of its web sites – should continue to support the journey towards digital Britain.
And that's why we think it's right that the licence fee should pay for many of the costs of this switchover process. I know some people disagree with this. But we believe it is clearly a broadcasting cost, and the licence fee has always been a way of delivering broadcasting policy objectives.
Switchover will deliver specific advantages to the BBC. It will no longer have to waste money maintaining both an analogue and a digital terrestrial network. And it will become a truly universal television service once again – the subject I get the greatest number of letters about is people who complain that they are paying for BBC digital TV channels they cannot receive. That situation has been tolerable in the short term, but was problematic in the long term. Switchover is appropriate to that problem.
And it is a progressive use of the licence fee. Although 70% of the public have digital TV, less than 35% of those over 75 do. Our package of support for the vulnerable is essential to helping them.
The very interesting emerging conclusions from our trials in Wales and Bolton shows that when the elderly and disabled get digital TV, they value it, if anything, more than other groups. They are often households where the television is one of, sometimes the main focus of their leisure. And the feedback from those homes about the value of digital TV is overwhelmingly positive. Put simply, they do love the extra choice of channels that they get.
Production and Training
The White Paper, like the Green Paper that went before it, confirms the need for a BBC of scale and scope.
But that mustn't be a goal in itself – the investment in the BBC is only justified ultimately by the quality of what is on the screen, radio or computer screen.
To this end, the White Paper requires the BBC to operate a new "window of creative competition", a commissioning system that encourages greater competition between in-house and independent producers. We believe this will allow licence fee payers to continue receiving the finest programmes from both in-house and out of house providers. Programmes like Spooks, The Apprentice, and Have I Got News For You may not have been made by the BBC, but they are all quintessentially BBC.
We agree with you that the BBC needs to retain a critical mass of in house production to enable it to continue to train and invest in the brightest and best.
And new arrangements in the Charter and Agreement provide for the BBC to continue to invest in training – again in-house and for the whole of the industry.
Funding
We agree with the VLV that the licence fee remains the fairest way to fund the BBC.
The next major milestone will be the decision on the level of the licence fee to apply from April 2007. Work on the funding review to analyse the BBC's future funding needs is well underway and we will make an announcement later in the year on the future levels of the Licence Fee.
I can't say any more today about the likely level. But I can say that the process for deciding it will be the most open and robust ever. We will publish the findings of Independent Consultants PKF's financial analysis of the BBC's proposals, subject to proper consideration of confidentiality.
And, for the first time there will be an opportunity, including a seminar, for stakeholders to give us their views directly on the BBC's future funding. I am looking forward to welcoming VLV at that seminar. Lord Burns, who led the independent advisory panel appointed by the Secretary of State at the start of this process, will chair this event that we expect to take place in May. We will invite stakeholders to give their views on issues like the size of the BBC, its efficiency and the impact the new technologies will have on future funding.
And for the first time, the NAO will be responsible for monitoring the efficiency targets that we eventually give the BBC.
Draft Charter and Agreement
Of course, all this consultation, research, the Green Paper and the White Paper is to help lead us to the final goal of putting in place a new Royal Charter and accompanying Agreement.
These two documents carry all the important legal provisions. I look forward to reading your comments, and to your involvement in the process for setting the licence fee.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, the White Paper places the public where they should be, at the heart of public service broadcasting – the heart of the BBC.
When I started, I compared the BBC to the NHS and I genuinely believe that there are relevant comparisons.
Both are founded on a belief that quality, fairness and universal provision are values worth supporting. Both organisations face the challenge of taking their values into a modern setting. Both need to adapt to social and technological change.
This Charter Review has happened in a relatively benign climate. What I want to say tonight is that the ball is now in the BBC's court for 2016. One Charter Review process will end soon. But the next Charter Review in effect starts on 1 Jan 2007 and this time it will be the public that is in the driving seat, not the politicians. It will not be good enough, as Mark Thompson once said, for the BBC to get "old time religion" in 2014 or 2015. Any sense of moves to dumb down, or chase ratings, or resort to competitive imperialism would prevent the consensus emerging, that I think is so vital.
The distinctive mission of the White Paper must be threaded into everything the BBC does. Because the next Charter Review will be happening in a very different world.
In 2016 the BBC's mission will remain, but by then the television landscape and the way we use television will look very different. Flat screen, high-definition televisions are already becoming indistinguishable from PC monitors and by 2016 on-demand services will be widely available fuelled by faster broadband and wireless networking and, I am sure, all sorts of developments we haven't dreamed of yet.
Of course, the BBC faces similar challenges to those faced by many public services – not everyone uses the NHS, but everyone pays for it. Not everyone uses state schools, but everyone pays for them.
So by the close of this Charter, the challenge for the BBC will be for it to generate the kind of wide and deep public consensus generated by the NHS or by state education. We believe the White Paper gives it the framework in which it can do so.
That is why we say the ball is now in the BBC's court. We are optimists about the future of the public service broadcasting.
We believe that the continuing value of the BBC is down to its enduring role in providing universal access to high quality programmes. We do not believe that it was a technological accident. We believe there is every chance it will remain central in this on-demand market we are now entering.
But that will only happen if the BBC lives up to the challenge of the White Paper – to create a consensus around the BBC's mission and impact, both with licence fee payers and competitors. As I say, the ball is indeed now in their court.
Thank you.
