BBC under fire for lack of transparency on complaints
THE BBC’s refusal to publish complaints figures for its programmes is to come under scrutiny when a new external regulator takes over in April.
Ofcom said there was “an underlying issue about transparency” in the corporation’s decision to stop disclosing how many licence fee-payer complaints it receives, most recently about sound levels in the BBC One drama SS-GB.
In total, the BBC receives around 250,000 complaints a year on a range of issues, Ofcom said. But the corporation does not have to reveal how many of those relate to editorial standards.
Under a new complaints system to be introduced in April, viewers and listeners must contact the BBC in the first instance to complain about a programme. If they are dissatisfied with the response, they can complain to Ofcom which will investigate possible breaches of the Broadcasting Code.
“We will tell people what we’re investigating and why and how many complaints we’ve received,” said Tony Close, Ofcom’s director of content standards. “We are there to act in the audience’s interests and we will be transparent.”
Although Ofcom has no power to demand the BBC makes complaints figures public, the secretive approach “is at odds with what we do”, Close said. “I think there is a decision for the BBC to make on whether or not they want to be clear about how many complaints they’re receiving. There is a question for the BBC over how they continue to handle it under a new regulator.”
On April 3, Ofcom will replace the BBC Trust as the body responsible for maintaining standards in BBC content, holding the corporation to account for its performance, and ensuring fairness to its competitors. It has the power to fine the BBC up to £250,000 for breaches of the code.
A BBC spokesman said: “We take complaints seriously but they can’t be judged by volume alone.
“When we have significant numbers we respond on the audiences section of the website.”
SS-GB, which imagines what would have happened if the Nazis had won the Battle of Britain, lost more than a third of its audience in its second episode on Sunday night, down from 6.1 million to 3.9 million viewers.