Tony Hall:
The White Paper offers the corporation a clear vision of the future – but we must retain our independence
The debate leading up to the publication of the Government’s White Paper on the BBC has been dominated by noise and uncertainty, speculation and concern. But we needed to have the debate. The BBC spends public money; all the difficult questions must be weighed up.
Now that we are at the end of that long process, an important point of clarity and consensus has emerged. Everyone – from committees of MPs and peers to commercial competitors, from Bafta-winning artists to the great British public – agrees on one thing: that the BBC of the future should continue to do what it has always done best. The BBC should carry on delivering the world-class, critically acclaimed programmes that audiences love – such as Wolf Hall and War and
Peace which, as their creators have told me, would not exist without the BBC. The corporation must maintain those radio services that are unequalled anywhere in the world. And it must continue to provide the trusted, impartial news coverage that the public relies on from the moment the radio is switched on in the morning to the moment the TV is turned off at night. The BBC offers the very best to everyone at home, and showcases the very best of this country to the world as a beacon of Britain’s creativity and cultural strength.
Given this chorus of support for the kind of BBC that the country wants and needs, the test for the Government’s White Paper becomes very simple: does it secure the future of the BBC that we all believe in? My answer is yes it does. I believe the Government has made clear its firm commitment to the BBC. It has considered our ambitious vision for the future, and heard our case for continuity and for change.
The Government has given us an 11-year Charter that will allow us to develop our plans in the long term, and insulate future debates about the BBC from the heat of the political cycle. It has accepted our arguments for the licence fee, and secured a funding model for the next 11 years that fundamentally underpins the BBC as a service for everyone. It has recognised the progress we are making as we seek to be a model of public service reform, and offered us the certainty of a firm, financial footing by honouring the whole of the settlement we reached last year.
And rather than diminishing our mission, the Government has reaffirmed our purpose in a way that will allow us to remain one of the best programme-makers in the world and the cornerstone of this country’s creative industries. We are vital to the UK.
But the BBC must also continue to reform and adapt. We need to become more efficient and simpler. Since we are spending the public’s money, we have to question every penny. We must never allow ourselves to be complacent.
When I returned to the BBC three years ago, I said I believed that the BBC’s best days were still to come. Today I am more confident of that than ever. But there is one area of the White Paper where I believe more work is required. Around the world, the reputation of the BBC depends on the fact that it is a publicly funded, but independent broadcaster. We have an honourable disagreement with the Government on the composition of the new BBC board. For the public to remain confident in the corporation’s impartiality, editorial freedom and ability to air all views without fear or favour, it is vital that its board members are seen to be independent of government. I believe there is plenty of time to get this right; everyone wants to get to the right answer.
Last week, the nation had the chance to celebrate the life and long, distinguished career of Sir David Attenborough. At 90 years old, he remains the individual who not only best embodies the BBC’s public service mission, but also best demonstrates our constant commitment to finding new ways to inform, educate and entertain.
As the BBC’s centenary approaches, I believe that the nation will be able to celebrate a BBC that is as true as ever to its mission of the past, but more confident and ambitious than ever about its role for this country in the future. Lord Hall is Director General of the BBC