Bectu responds to Culture Secretary’s BBC funding review announcement

Commenting on the Culture Secretary’s announcement on the Government’s review into BBC funding, Head of Bectu Philippa Childs said:

“Today the Culture Secretary has told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee she will announce the review into the BBC’s funding model imminently, which will include the appointment of an’ independent’ chair. However, in the same session she made clear her support and preference for abolishing the licence fee.

“This is not the unbiased environment we need behind a review that could threaten the future of a proudly British institution that is respected and envied worldwide. The public service remit of the BBC is to inform, entertain and educate and to do that it needs a stable funding model that puts creativity, world-class content and jobs at its heart.

“The Culture Secretary’s blatant support for scrapping the licence fee and instead forcing the BBC to compete directly with the streaming giants fundamentally misunderstands the role the BBC plays in British national life, and risks the services and benefits to the UK’s economy that only the BBC provides. Freezing and later abolishing the fee will necessitate huge cuts – hitting jobs, regional economies and ultimately the content that British people know and love.

“It is imperative that the Government approaches the review on the basis of evidence, transparency and impartiality it demands and deserves. It owes this much to the British public and to the future of public service broadcasting.”