Obligations to meet

This newspaper is no fan of excessive regulation, so the news that Ofcom is scrapping scores of rules designed to ensure the BBC meets its public service obligations is not necessarily a bad thing. The Corporation petitioned the regulator, which took over as independent monitor in April, to give it greater flexibility to meet targets for efficiency cuts.

The upshot – revealed by The Daily Telegraph today – is that BBC Radio 4 will no longer be obliged to broadcast religious services, science shows or arts programming. Rules requiring regular coverage of consumer affairs, education, health, business, farming and disability are due to be abandoned. Overall, Ofcom is planning to cut the total number of radio programming requirements from more than 200 to just 20.

Under the Royal Charter, one of Ofcom’s central responsibilities is to hold the BBC to account for fulfilling its mission and promoting its public purposes. Yet one of its first decisions is to risk diminishing the breadth and depth of its output.

There are strong arguments for the BBC to move from being predominantly financed by a licence-fee to a subscription model. But for as long as the Corporation is in receipt of a guaranteed £3.7 billion a year from TV licences backed by the full force of the criminal law then it has a responsibility to provide a comprehensive range of programmes, often to minority-interest groups. The BBC also has an important role to play in supporting and sustaining creative life in the UK. If it needs to save money it could scale back its website, which competes not with other broadcasters but with newspapers. Flexibility may help control costs; but the BBC – or Ofcom – must not lose sight of its core purpose.