Scandal-hit BBC Trust ‘to be axed’ in charter review
THE BBC Trust could be scrapped within two years under plans being considered by ministers.
The corporation’s governing body could be replaced by industry watchdog Ofcom or a new independent regulator.
It would be the first time the BBC was governed by an external organisation in its 92-year history.
Critics say the failings exposed by the Jimmy Savile scandal and rows over executive pay and political bias means the BBC needs to be more closely monitored.
Culture Secretary John Whittingdale is now drawing up a discussion paper featuring several options for radical reform of the Corporation’s governance.
The plans will form part of the process of the review of the BBC charter, which determines how the BBC runs, including setting the £145.50 licence fee. The current charter expires next year. Senior Tories are calling for radical reforms of governance and further reductions in the licence fee.
A report published by the Culture Media and Sport Committee earlier this year, when Mr Whittingdale was chairman, called for the Trust to be replaced with a more rigorous public service broadcasting commission.
Mr Whittingdale – who described the licence fee as ‘worse than the poll tax’ – recently declared he did not have a ‘vendetta’ against the BBC but said there were areas relating to the BBC where ‘clearly there is a strong case for change’.
He has said it needs a ‘very robust system in place’ to deal with issues of impartiality. He added: ‘Whether or not the present governance is the right way of dealing with it – the fact that questions of impartiality are judged by the BBC Trust – that is an area which I want to think about because all the other broadcasters have an external regulator looking at the impartiality question.’
During the election campaign, George Osborne signalled he believed Ofcom’s role could be expanded to cover the BBC.
Speaking to the Radio Times, Mr Osborne said: ‘ The trust arrangement has never really worked. I’ve never understood why the BBC is so frightened of regulation by Ofcom.’
Rona Fairhead, the head of the BBC Trust, has called for a ‘bespoke’ regulator to be set up to govern the BBC.
The Trust is responsible for overseeing the BBC’s editorial standards, reviewing value for money and monitoring its impact on commercial competitors.
It came under pressure for its failure to rein in excessive pay-offs to departing executives and the investigation into the Savile scandal. A BBC Trust spokesman said last night: ‘We fully expect regulation to be one of the issues debated as part of Charter Review.’