Select committee inquiry
The BBC's implementation of Across the UK
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“The BBC’s Across the UK (ATUK) initiative aims to improve audience portrayal to better reflect the lives and communities of BBC audiences across the whole of the UK, by moving decisions on budgets and expenditure outside London, changing the culture of BBC commissioning, production and news. ATUK’s overall target is to transfer at least an additional £700m of its expenditure outside London by March 2028. It had reached its phase one target of 12.5% of the total £700m expenditure by June 2023, three months later than planned. The remaining transfer of expenditure is planned for phases two and three. The BBC has achieved many of its early targets, though a National Audit Office (NAO) report found a developed plan does not yet exist to evaluate progress with implementing ATUK and to capture its intended benefits. The Committee scrutinised the BBC’s move to Salford in 2013 , when it warned about the scale of allowances paid to staff to relocate. It most recently examined the BBC’s intentions to transform its business in April 2023 , and recommended a detailed plan for how the BBC might switch to an internet-only future to ensure no-one is left behind. Based on the NAO report, the Committee will take evidence from senior BBC officials on topics including: • How the BBC intends to measure progress implementing ATUK; • ATUK’s likely impact on local creative economies; • Progress in transferring expenditure; • Challenges for the next phases of ATUK. If you have evidence on these issues, please submit it here by 23:59 on Monday 5 February 2024. Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. This inquiry was closed due to the 2024 General Election.”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
In the committee's words, from the summary of Twenty-Sixth Report - The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK ↗
Through its Across the UK programme, the BBC plans to strengthen its delivery for all the UK by moving a further £700 million of its spending outside London between March 2021 and March 2028, with three phases of implementation. However, it has begun implementing its programme without a clear plan and could not readily explain the expected impact and benefits for licence fee payers.
We are concerned the BBC was too confident of what it can deliver in the future. It did not meet all of its targets for phase one of the programme up to March 2023 and offered little evidence of a coherent approach to delivery, or of effective tracking and measurement. The BBC emphasised that its plans are ambitious, and we heard that it had performed well in some areas, such as moving 58% of TV expenditure outside London, against its target of 60% by December 2027. However, where it is behind schedule, such as audio production and apprenticeships, it did not have a plan to get back on track.
For example, it had moved just 1 percentage point of its audio production expenditure outside London since March 2020, with the BBC reporting that it is spending 41% outside London as at February 2024, against its target of 50% by March 2028.
The BBC’s plans for evaluating the success of Across the UK are incomplete and, after three years of implementation, it did not have an overall approach in place for assessing the impact of the programme. Its intention to start evaluating performance from 2025, during phase three of Across the UK, is too late for it to change course if needed. In evaluating, it will be important for the BBC to distinguish between new jobs that are created in the regions compared to those simply being moved outside London. The nature of the local hubs the BBC is creating in, for example, Birmingham, Salford, Cardiff and Glasgow, and its engagement with local authorities and stakeholders present risks to achieving the full benefits of Across the UK. This included the BBC not fully grasping the significance of the other bodies and communities it needed to work effectively with and which are crucial to the success of Across the UK. The BBC has yet to develop contingencies for the real risk that some local partners, on whom the success of its programme is reliant, may pull out.
What the government said
The government responded on 11 July 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response.
The BBC states that it agrees with each of the Committee's recommendations on Across the UK, reporting some as already implemented and others with a target implementation date of December 2025.
- On refreshing its plans, the BBC agrees and will "review delivery to date" at the programme's half-way point, with a target implementation date of December 2025; it states it is "confident the programme will exceed its financial and economic benefit targets".
- On getting back on track, the BBC says plans are "on-track to complete the relocation of planned BBC Radio & Music editorial teams and programming by April 2025".
- On apprentices, the BBC says its ability to deliver its full target in 2025 "is currently being reviewed" and it "may be necessary to revise future apprentice numbers".
- On reporting, the BBC agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, citing changes to its 2023-24 Annual Report and Accounts, including additional performance data for BBC Nations and regions content.
Read the government's response ↗ Read the report ↗ Report an error
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 13 December 2023 to 11 July 2025.
- Report 17 Apr 2024
- Government response 11 Jul 2025
- Correspondence 11 Mar 2024
What it recommended 5 recommendations · 20 conclusions
2Compare current and forecast Across the UK delivery against original plans, refreshing analysis ongoing.
Concluded (the committee's words)
The BBC has not assessed how the changes it has made to the scope of Across the UK will affect the overall shape of the programme and the benefits it is intended to deliver. Since the BBC’s announcement in March 2021, it has changed the composition of projects that make up the Across the UK programme. For example, it has removed from the scope of the programme its original plan to build a network of 100 digital community reporters, as well as the planned relocation of the BBC Concert Orchestra outside London. The BBC will need to find other ways to move its audio spend in order to compensate for these decisions and hit its target to spend 50% of its audio expenditure outside London. But the BBC did not understand well enough the risks and impacts of these changes in scope and so the nature of the expenditure it moves outside London by the end of the programme could look quite different from what it planned at the outset. Changes the BBC is making to services locally could also disadvantage certain groups. In particular, and although no longer part of Across the UK, we are concerned that the BBC’s reallocation of budgets from local radio to local online services and more sharing of weekday programmes will, in effect, reduce services for people who are older or less able to access digital online platforms. Recommendation 2: Where the BBC has made changes to Across the UK by bringing activities in and out of scope, it should compare current delivery and future forecast delivery against its original plan so that it can spell out any differences in the overall benefits to be delivered. It should refresh this analysis on an ongoing basis.
3Finalise urgent plans to get Across the UK back on track for audio spend and apprentices.
Concluded (the committee's words)
The BBC remains very confident that it will deliver Across the UK as expected – we are concerned this is misplaced, given it is behind schedule in key areas. The BBC’s initial lack of planning resulted in unrealistic timelines for some areas of the programme, such as moving roles and local recruitment. The BBC repeatedly expressed confidence that it will deliver its Across the UK objectives. It says it has performed well in some areas, such as moving 58% of TV expenditure outside London, against its 60% target. It reported that it had caught up with previously 6 The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK missed transfer expenditure targets and claimed that it will meet its overall target of transferring £700 million of its expenditure outside London by March 2028. However, in some key areas the BBC has made slow progress or missed its targets, and its explanations for how it would get back on track were not convincing. It aimed to spend 50% of its audio production budget outside London by March 2028, but had only achieved 41% of spending outside London so far, from 40% in March 2020, and it had a £23 million shortfall in transferred expenditure resulting from the cancelled relocation of the BBC Concert Orchestra outside London. By March 2023, the BBC placed 27 apprentices through its West Midlands Apprentice Hub, against a target of 50. It similarly had recruited 617 in-house apprentices against a target of 713, with 60% outside London against a target of 80%. Recommendation 3: The BBC should urgently finalise its plans for getting back on track where it is behind on implementation of Across the UK, including transferring audio spend outside London and its plans for apprentices.
4Align external and internal reporting on Across the UK programme progress to improve transparency.
Concluded (the committee's words)
The BBC’s reporting of Across the UK does not provide Parliament nor the public with a complete picture of progress with the programme, and risks causing confusion. The BBC considered its internal governance of programmes to be tight and specific, but in its public communication of its progress with Across the UK it sets out its ambitions and how it meets its public purposes more broadly. The BBC told us it considered the relocation of its Birmingham premises from The Mailbox to Digbeth as a separate project from Across the UK yet it included its benefits as part of Across the UK in its 2022–23 Annual Report and Accounts. The BBC stands by its presentation of activity in this way. We are concerned that the BBC is claiming benefits for Across the UK publicly when it is favourable for it to do so for activities that are not part of the programme, compared with dissociating other activities from the programme when they could be seen as a bad news story, such as cuts to local radio. Recommendation 4: To improve transparency, in future public reporting on Across the UK, including its next Annual Report and Accounts, the BBC should align its reporting of progress on implementation so that its external and internal reporting on Across the UK are consistent with each other.
5Urgently set out a framework to consistently measure Across the UK's tangible impacts for audiences.
Concluded (the committee's words)
The BBC’s plans for evaluating Across the UK are incomplete and it does not have in place an overall approach for assessing impact. To assess Across the UK, the BBC planned to measure changes to audience perception as well as additional economic benefits such as jobs created. However, it lacked a comprehensive framework that pulled together its different measures to give the overall picture of the programme’s impact. At this stage of the programme, we would have expected the BBC to already have a benefits management strategy and plan in place. Despite starting the programme in 2021, the BBC did not expect to develop its evaluation plan until the second phase of the programme and would not evaluate until 2025. This will be too late for it to understand the impact the programme is having, to make any changes it may need to make, and to realise the benefits from any changes. The BBC has not articulated what success will look like, nor does it have standardised measures of success for its regional hubs in terms of local impact and generating economic growth. The BBC spoke of the recent publication of an evaluation of Doctor Who’s economic impact in Wales following its re-launch in The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK 7 2005 in Cardiff. That was not part of Across the UK, but the BBC would not commit to undertaking comparable evaluations of economic impact for the regional hubs where Across the UK is focused. Recommendation 5: The BBC should urgently set out a framework that brings together how it will consistently measure all of the tangible, beneficial impacts of Across the UK for audiences and in generating local economic growth.
6Set out contingency plans for external partner changes and engage staff on Across the UK.
Recommended (the committee's words)
The BBC has not fully grasped the significance of the other bodies and communities it needs to work with effectively and which are crucial to the success of Across the UK. As part of Across the UK, the BBC has established partnerships with local authorities, combined authorities and local industry bodies. The BBC highlighted the value of local partners to the delivery of Across the UK and the work it does, but its evidence is contradictory. The BBC said it wanted partners to bring in investment but also insisted it could deliver Across the UK without them. It also claimed its plans are unaffected by the cancellation of the planned HS2 train line between Birmingham and Manchester. Several local authorities are close to declaring themselves bankrupt and may have to withdraw some local services, yet the BBC did not understood the full impact of these financial pressures and lacked contingency plans if local partners have to pull out. Furthermore, although Across the UK is designed to change the culture of the BBC and will have a significant impact on many staff, the BBC did not collect data on what its staff think about the programme. Recommendation 6: As part of its response to this report, the BBC should set out: • how it will identify and monitor the impact of any sudden or unexpected changes to commitments from its external partners, and what contingency plans it has for such uncertainties. • how it will engage more fully with its staff to understand and take account of their views to make its implementation of Across the UK a success. 8 The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK 1 The intended benefits of Across the UK
1Committee took evidence from the BBC regarding its Across the UK programme implementation.
Concluded (the committee's words)
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the BBC on its implementation of its Across the UK programme.1
7The BBC's Across the UK business case remains underdeveloped and lacks clear objectives.
Concluded (the committee's words)
We repeatedly asked the BBC to clarify how its activities will deliver the objectives of Across the UK. In response, the BBC gave us multiple examples of the programmes it has moved outside London and the local partnerships it had set up, and emphasised its target of transferring £700 million outside London.11 It told us that it knew that moving expenditure outside London would lead to economic growth and improved perception.12 The BBC had announced its £700 million commitment before finalising its Across the UK plan, budget and business case. The NAO report found that the BBC’s business case was underdeveloped, including that the BBC had not clearly stated the link between its outputs and desired change. The BBC recognised that its business case for Across the UK could 5 C&AG’s Report, Figure 1 6 Qq 17–18, 25–26; C&AG’s report, paras 1, Figure 1, paras 2.8–2.9, figure 8 7 Qq 25–26, 30 8 Qq 25–26, 29–30 9 Letter from Tim Davie, Director General, BBC, to Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair, Committee of Public Accounts, dated 1 March 2024 10 Qq 62–63 11 Qq 24–26, 29, 30, 45, 47, 62, 63 12 Qq 21, 45, 49 10 The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK have benefitted from a broader look at the benefits of the programme and committed to improving its approach to business cases, incorporating best practice from HM Treasury’s guidance.13 The impact of changes to the scope of the programme
8BBC de-scoped activities from Across the UK without an agreed process, risking objective impacts.
Concluded (the committee's words)
Since announcing Across the UK in March 2021, the BBC had de-scoped some activities from the programme, including moving some activities to other initiatives. For example, the BBC originally planned to create a new network of more than 100 digital community reporters across the UK, but later in 2021 decided to move this into its local strategy instead. The BBC said it decided, between March and October 2021, to remove its activities in the devolved nations and local areas from Across the UK and deliver them independently. The NAO reported that the BBC considered the implementation of Across the UK to be an iterative process and that it needed to adapt its plans to meet its overall target. However, the BBC did not have an agreed process for requesting changes to Across the UK until October 2022 and decided not to review any changes made prior to this being adopted. The NAO found that this created a risk that the BBC had not properly understood the risks and impacts of these changes on its overall objectives.14
9BBC faces challenge to meet audio expenditure relocation targets after Concert Orchestra decision.
Concluded (the committee's words)
In June 2023, the BBC announced that its Concert Orchestra would not be moving outside London as it had originally planned. The relocation would have transferred £23 million of audio expenditure outside London. The BBC will need to find other audio expenditure to transfer if it is to meet its target to increase its audio expenditure outside London to 50% and its overall target of £700 million. The NAO found in November 2023 that the BBC was developing a phase two business case with plans to address these challenges and ensure it would meet its targets, but that these were not yet finalised. We therefore asked the BBC whether it still expected to be able to deliver the overall shape of the £700 million as it originally planned. The BBC told us that, while it was behind on its audio target, it was still holding its radio, music and audio teams to its target to deliver 50% of expenditure outside London. It told us that it was confident that this would be addressed and that it would achieve its headline target for audio expenditure. It explained that changes to the scope of this element of the programme had allowed it to announce new plans, such as those for the additional audit hub for Glasgow and Belfast.15
10BBC maintains flexible approach to TV commissioning locations despite potential impact on local partners.
Concluded (the committee's words)
The BBC told us that the third phase of the programme, which will run from April 2025 to the end of March 2028, would focus on maximising the impact of the strategy and, where necessary, make changes to its commissions to ensure that it was getting the maximum return and value to audiences. We asked whether it was able to make changes to the programme at this later stage. The BBC explained that it had a responsive and flexible approach to its TV commissioning, making changes on an ongoing basis. The BBC described itself as “very footloose” regarding where it made TV content. It told us that this enabled it to be responsive to editorial and creative opportunities. We asked the BBC if it understood that it could be a big shift for a local partner to have agreed a deal for a network programme to be made in its local area, but then editorially have the 13 Qq 17–20; C&AG’s Report, paras 7, 1.12, figure 4 14 Q 39; C&AG’s Report, paras 2.2–2.3 15 Qq 27, 72–73 ; C&AG’s Report, paras 2.3, 2.5, 3.5 The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK 11 programme moved somewhere else. The BBC explained that certain regions were priority regions for it and that its commitments were to provide production investment to those regions, but what the money was spent on might change over time.16
11BBC acknowledges other change programmes may affect Across the UK, particularly in local radio.
Concluded (the committee's words)
The BBC told us that Across the UK only included work to move activities outside the M25 and that it had separate strategies for its related initiatives in local services. We therefore asked the BBC about the potential impact of other change programmes, particularly in audio, that could affect the impact or delivery of Across the UK. The BBC acknowledged that its other change programmes could also affect the impact of Across the UK, but did not provide any further detail on what this looked like in practice or how it was managing this.17 We asked the BBC about the impact of its changes to local radio, including the decision to move quite a lot of content online, given that 80% of BBC local radio listeners are over 55 years old. The BBC explained that it had not cut money from local services, which had a flat budget, but reallocated funds from local radio to online services, so there had been cuts within the budget from one area to another. It said it had not closed any local radio stations but acknowledged it was making changes to programmes and presenters, with more sharing of weekday programmes. It told us that decisions to reallocate money from local radio “are not easy choices … they are incredibly difficult”.18 While the BBC acknowledged the challenge of changing the provision of local radio, it highlighted the need for it to respond to a changing media landscape, with only 15% of the population listening to local radio and mostly listening to news. It told us that even among those aged 65 to 74 years old, the largest consumption was news. The BBC committed to keep all local radio services and all breakfast shows, stating that local radio was “utterly precious” and that it was doing all it could to protect it.19 16 Qq 29, 63–66; C&AG’s Report Figure 3 17 Qq 28–29, 41 18 Qq 29, 31 19 Qq 31–32 12 The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK 2 Progress so far Getting back on track
12BBC met many Phase 1 targets but missed overall expenditure transfer and audio relocation goals.
Concluded (the committee's words)
The BBC met many, but not all, of the specific targets that it set for phase one of Across the UK to the end of March 2023. By March 2023, the BBC had already commissioned 110 new and returning drama and comedy programmes reflecting communities outside London, against a target of 100 commissions by March 2028. Of these, 68 programmes have already been aired on television, 29 of which specifically portray the devolved nations, including Sherwood, Happy Valley, Control Room, Bloodlands, Two Doors Down, and The Outlaws. The BBC achieved its phase one target for transferring employment outside London, moving jobs equivalent to 291 full-time posts against a target of 288.5. It also agreed two published memoranda of understanding (with West Midlands Combined Authority and Create Central) setting out how to better serve local audiences and creative economies.20 The BBC described its transfer of TV production expenditure as “a good result”, increasing the percentage of its budget spent outside London from 50% in March 2021 to 58% by March 2023, against a target of 60% by December 2027. However, the BBC missed its interim target for its key measure for the programme of transferring £700 million outside London. The BBC planned to transfer £87.5 million outside London by the end of March 2023, transferring £67.5 million by this date.21
13BBC expresses confidence in meeting remaining Across the UK expenditure targets despite initial delays.
Recommended (the committee's words)
The BBC’s initial lack of planning resulted in unrealistic timelines for some areas of the programme, such as moving roles and local recruitment. It took three months for it to catch up and meet its target for transferring overall expenditure outside London, achieving its target by the end of June 2023.22 We therefore asked the BBC how confident it was that it would meet its targets for the remainder of the programme. The BBC repeatedly told us that it was confident of hitting its targets for Across the UK, in particular its overall target of transferring an additional £700 million of expenditure outside London between 2021 and 2028.23 The BBC explained that it was confident because delivery of its transfer expenditure target was in its gift and it had enough time to achieve this. It also explained that, since meeting its phase one target to transfer overall expenditure, it had continued to accelerate its delivery against this. The NAO found that the BBC planned to over-deliver against its transfer of television production outside London, and had identified £90 million of additional television production expenditure which it would transfer by March 2028. The BBC had yet to include this additional £90 million in its forecasts.24
14BBC significantly behind audio expenditure relocation targets, with plans for recovery not yet finalised.
Concluded (the committee's words)
The BBC recognised that it was behind schedule with its plans to transfer audio expenditure outside London. By March 2023, the BBC spent 41% of its expenditure on network audio production outside London, an increase of just 1 percentage point compared with 40% in March 2020. Having transferred 1 percentage point of expenditure in 4 years, it needed to transfer a further 9 percentage points of spend in the next 5 years to reach its target expenditure of 50% by March 2028. The BBC said it was working through its plans for how it would get back on track with its planned transfer of audio expenditure and it did not expect to have these plans in place until early 2024–25.25 20 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.5, 2.11, 2.14, 2.18, Figure 6 21 Q 18; C&AG’s report, paras 2.5–2.6, 2.8 22 Qq 18, 70; C&AG’s report, para 2.6 23 Qq 18, 26, 45, 69, 73 24 Qq 69–70; C&AG’s report, paras 2.6, 2.8 3.5 25 Q 18, 26, 72–73; C&AG’s report, para 2.9 The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK 13
15BBC behind apprentice recruitment targets due to economic barriers for partner companies.
Concluded (the committee's words)
The BBC was also behind on its targets for apprentice recruitment, namely to double the number of in-house apprentices by the end of 2025, supporting 1,000 in any given year, with 80% of its apprentices outside London. By March 2023, the BBC had recruited 617 in-house apprentices, against a target of 713, with 60% outside London against a target of 80%. As part of Across the UK, the BBC was trialling a new apprenticeship model in the West Midlands with its Apprentice Hub. Through the Apprentice Hub, apprentices were placed with local companies, which shared the costs with the BBC. By March 2023, the BBC had placed 27 apprentices through the Apprentice Hub, against a target of 50. We asked the BBC what barriers it had encountered with the Apprentice Hub, and how it was addressing these. The BBC explained that the hub was based on a demand-led model, and fewer companies than it had expected had been able to take on apprentices. While the BBC undertook to cover the recruitment and management costs of the scheme, and provide one day of paid employment every week, it was reliant on partner companies to provide, and fund, the remaining four days a week. It explained that economic conditions, including rising costs and headcount pressures, “were challenging for the small creative businesses that we wanted to work with” and that with hindsight that additional costs for these businesses to take on early-career apprentices “was probably too much”. The BBC told us that it was evaluating the scheme and reviewing how to improve its apprenticeship offer and whether it would continue with the current model.26
16BBC apprentice scheme lags on lower socio-economic diversity and senior local hires.
Concluded (the committee's words)
We asked the BBC about its diversity and inclusion targets for apprentices, and whether it shared our concerns that these were not being met. The BBC explained that it had set overall diversity and inclusion targets for the whole of the BBC. This was for 50% of staff to be female, 20% to be from ethnic minority groups and 12% to idenitfy as disabled. It also has a target for 25% of staff to come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. It acknowledged that although the apprentice scheme was doing better against these targets than the BBC overall, it would like to see the scheme do better with regards to lower socio-economic diversity. In written evidence provided after the session, the BBC set out that within the apprenticeship scheme it had met or surpassed three of its diversity and inclusion targets for women (55%), people from ethnic minority backgrounds (24%) and people with a disability (16%). However, as of February 2024, 23% of apprentices were from a lower socio-economic background, against a target of 25%. We asked the BBC about the make-up, in terms of grades, of its reported 65% local hires for the jobs created through Across the UK. In written evidence provided after the session, the BBC told us that 0.9% of jobs recruited locally as part of Across the UK were for senior leaders. The BBC described the improvement in opportunities for senior national roles outside London as “a massive change”, but acknowledged that it would take time to increase the proportion of local hires.27 Reporting progress with the programme
17Public confusion persists regarding projects included in BBC's "Across the UK" initiative.
Concluded (the committee's words)
In response to our inquiry on Across the UK, we received written evidence relating to local news and the impact of the BBC’s changes to its local services. Although the BBC told us that its local strategy was being delivered as a separate strategy to Across the UK, we noted that the network of 100 digital community reporters was originally announced as part of Across the UK before being moved into its local strategy. The written evidence 26 Q 81; C&AG’s report, paras 2.20–2.22, 3.6 27 Qq 75–76, 78–80; Letter from Tim Davie, Director General, BBC, to Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair, Committee of Public Accounts, dated 1 March 2024, pages 5–6 14 The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK we received suggested that stakeholders expected that the evidence they had provided on local news would be relevant to our inquiry on Across the UK.28 Similarly, the BBC told us relocating its Birmingham premises from The Mailbox to Digbeth was a separate project to Across the UK, yet it referred to this relocation and claimed its benefits under Across the UK in its 2022–23 Annual Report and Accounts.29
18BBC acknowledges public confusion regarding the scope of "Across the UK" and its external communication.
Recommended (the committee's words)
We asked the BBC if it understood why there was public confusion about what Across the UK did, and did not, include. We observed that a member of the public might think that when something related to the decentralisation of activity brought benefits, the BBC claimed the benefits as part of Across the UK, but when, for example, radio shows were being cancelled, the BBC appeared not to want to associate this with Across the UK as it was a bad news story. The BBC said it could understand the risk, and that these were valid concerns, but told us that it thought that it had made the right calls in these areas. The BBC acknowledged that there was a difference between how it communicated about Across the UK externally and its internal management, which it considered to be tight and specific with Across the UK managed separately from other change programmes. It explained that it considered its management and governance of programmes to be clear so that it could demonstrate the change in benefits or scope of individual programmes, but that when it communicated broadly, using tools such as its Annual Report, it aimed to set out its “overall ambitions and how we are meeting the wider public purposes”. It recognised, however, that its approach might cause confusion regarding what projects are included in Across the UK and which are not.30 28 Qq 29, 39, 40; BBC0001 Written evidence submitted by National World plc, 19 February 2024; BBC0002 Written evidence submitted by News Media Association, 19 February 2024 29 Qq 38–39, 60; C&AG’s report, para 2.4 30 Qq 38–41, 60 The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK 15 3 Challenges for the future Evaluating benefits and impact
19BBC's "Across the UK" evaluation plan lacks detail and is significantly delayed.
Concluded (the committee's words)
In October 2021, the BBC agreed a phased approach to evaluating Across the UK. According to this plan, the BBC would not develop its methodology for evaluating Across the UK until phase two of the programme (April 2023 to the end of March 2025) and would not start measuring impact until phase three (April 2025 to the end of March 2028). Its October 2021 baseline plan included high-level metrics to measure improvements in audience portrayals and added economic value to the creative and production sectors, but lacked detail. The BBC is now in phase two of the programme where, as it planned, it will develop its main methodologies for measuring benefits and impacts.31
20BBC lacks fully developed evaluation framework for "Across the UK" benefits.
Concluded (the committee's words)
In November 2023, the NAO found that the BBC did not yet have a fully developed evaluation plan to assess its progress with implementing Across the UK and to capture the intended benefits. The NAO reported that at this stage of the programme it would have expected the BBC to now have a benefits management strategy and plan in place. Despite this, the BBC lacked a clear timetable for evaluation and had only recently established a budget for its evaluation activity. The NAO report set out that without a robust evaluation framework, the BBC would not be able capture the impact of its work, nor change course if needed.32 We therefore asked how the BBC could be confident that Across the UK worked and was delivering the outputs it intended when the BBC did not have an evaluation framework set up from the beginning. The BBC told us that it had long-term experience of delivering activity related to Across the UK, and of measuring its impact.33
21BBC's separate evaluation frameworks for "Across the UK" lack integration.
Concluded (the committee's words)
We asked the BBC what precisely it would measure as part of its evaluation. It told us that it had developed frameworks for measuring two key criteria for the evaluation – the audiences framework and the economic framework. It explained that as part of the economic framework it had developed a baseline against which it would be measuring its local gross value added.34 We asked the BBC why it was developing two separate evaluation strands to assess its main, intended impacts (audience perception and economic growth) rather than bringing them together. The BBC told us that the two plans sat under the programme director, but otherwise did not explain how they formed an overall framework for evaluating Across the UK.35 In written evidence provided after the session, the BBC said its baseline year for all evaluation measures was the financial year 2019–20.36 The BBC acknowledged it would need to collect better data to understand the later stages of the programme and its impacts in the regions.37
22BBC unwilling to commit to standardised evaluations for all regional "Across the UK" clusters.
Concluded (the committee's words)
We asked the BBC how it was future-proofing Across the UK and how it would ensure that it was not simply replicating the problems of London elsewhere in the future in its regional hubs. These hubs refer to the locations in which the BBC set up Across the UK activities at a scale it considered sufficient to make an impact on the local creative 31 Q 47; C&AG’s Report, para 3.8, figure 3 32 C&AG’s report; paras 17, 3.8–3.9, 3.12 33 Q 45 34 Qq 45–48 35 Q 61; C&AG’s report; para 3.9 36 Letter dated 1 March 2024 from Tim Davie, Director General, BBC, to Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair, Committee of Public Accounts, page 2 37 Q 55 16 The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK economies, rather than being thinly spread across many areas. It focused activities on areas where it already had some presence, while increasing commissioning targets in TV and audio outside London to increase production across the UK in many locations. The BBC told us that it was considering the future-proofing of Across the UK. It said its hub approach would be a step forward in getting people into the industry by creating a thriving sector in the north-east and career opportunities at senior levels within the BBC in Glasgow, Cardiff, Birmingham or Salford.38 We questioned how thoroughly the BBC would measure the economic benefits, including the jobs it expected the programme to create, and ensure that these were truly local. The BBC said that it was going to measure the number of jobs created and it would have to take a detailed look at the local effects within each cluster. The BBC referenced a recent study about the impact of Doctor Who on the regional economy in South Wales, following its re-launch in 2005 in Cardiff (which was not part of Across the UK).39 However, the BBC would not commit to undertaking comparable evaluations for all its regional clusters to provide a standardised measure of success. However, it did expect to take a more detailed look at the impact of its activities in the West Mid
23BBC acts as "first domino" in local creative economies, fostering collaboration with partners.
Concluded (the committee's words)
We asked the BBC if it was always a driver or sometimes the follower in a local creative economy. Giving the example of its move to Salford, the BBC described itself as an “effective first domino”, saying that the local supply chain grew by 70% when it invested in Salford. Nevertheless, it explained the importance of attracting other creative partners to the areas that it was working in. The BBC told us it needed to work with a range of partners and contributors including other broadcasters, regional Mayors, the wider production sector and freelancers, which the BBC referred to as being critical to the delivery of what it does. The BBC told us that an entire region often benefitted from having the momentum that a thriving creative sector brought. This momentum made the BBC itself much more effective as it built the critical mass needed in an area through other productions coming in, the creative energy and private investment.41
24BBC lacks contingency plans if local government partners withdraw "Across the UK" funding.
Recommended (the committee's words)
We asked the BBC about the potential impact on Across the UK of issues within local government finance, given that several local authorities were reportedly close to declaring themselves bankrupt, or had already in effect done so, and may have to withdraw some local services. In light of current financial pressures on various local councils, we asked the BBC what contingency plans it had in place if a significant partner had to pull out owing to lack of funding. The BBC could not explain to us any contingency plans it had in place. Instead, it told us that while it did not take the state of public finances lightly, unlike big infrastructure projects Across the UK only required small levels of funding from individual local partners. It gave us the example of its North East partnership, where 12 local authorities and 3 combined authorities were expected to contribute a combined total of £10 to £15 million, and the BBC would contribute £25 million. Furthermore, it asserted that even without investment from local partners it could still deliver Across the UK. The BBC told us that it mainly needed local authorities in order to help attract private investment and creative leaders, rather than to invest their own cash.42 Similarly, given 38 Qq 68, 97; C&AG’s Report para 1.8 39 Qq 25, 45, 49, 50, 51–54 40 Q 93 41 Qq 13, 21–23, 26, 81, 83, 91–92 42 Qq 87–90 The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK 17 that the West Midlands was one of the BBC’s key regions of activity, we asked the BBC about the impact of major changes to infrastructure projects, in particular the cancellation of the High Speed 2 (HS2) train line between Birmingham and Manchester. The BBC told us that in many respects its activities in Birmingham were unaffected by the withdrawal of the northern leg of HS2 and it would continue to deliver the benefits of Across the UK in the West Midlands.43
25BBC lacks specific staff data on "Across the UK" impact, engaged staff late.
Recommended (the committee's words)
We asked the BBC what specific data its management had to tell it what its staff thought about Across the UK. It told us it did not have any specific data but said it had a comprehensive staff survey where it looked at how people felt in each location and provided “world-class data on staff engagement”. We asked why it did not collect specific data given the clear importance the BBC attached to Across the UK, the fact it was designed to change the culture of the BBC and its disruptive nature for some of its London-based staff. The BBC told us it had an appropriate system in place which it considered proportionate, and that it focused on “good leadership” rather than surveys.44 The BBC was also unable to tell us at what point it engaged with its staff and musicians regarding the proposed relocation of the Concert Orchestra and could not explain its decision-making process. In written evidence provided after the session, the BBC confirmed it engaged with the Concert Orchestra musicians, management and production in October 2021, some six months after the move was announced in March 2021.45 43 Qq 94–96 44 Qq 84–85 45 Qq 33–37; Letter dated 1 March 2024 from Tim Davie, Director General, BBC, to Dame Meg Hillier, Chair, Committee of Public Accounts, dated 1 March 2024, page 3 18 The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK