Recommendation 2

The BBC’s plans for an increased presence in the nations and regions seem unclear and disjointed. In March 2021, the BBC announced that it would increase programming spending outside of London by £700 million by 2027–28. However, the BBC is also planning a number of efficiency measures around the UK, including making 600 redundancies in its Nations & Regions division and reducing its regional news output. As a result of this inconsistency, it remains to be seen whether this means that the number of people it employs outside of London will increase or decrease. We are also sceptical about the BBC’s claim that viewers outside of London will have more of a voice as a result of relocating jobs to the regions, where these jobs are of national relevance, such as the production of national news. More generally, we are not clear how the BBC intends to find an additional £700 million for the nations and regions, given that it does not yet know the outcome of its licence fee negotiations, or how it will rationalise its estate in line with its new regional plans. We are also concerned that due to the apparent lack of clear, joined-up plans, there may be a risk that the BBC could end up making staff redundant in one area only then to rehire them in a separate area down the line, leading to unnecessary voluntary redundancy pay-outs. Recommendation: The BBC must be clear and transparent about what it is trying to achieve with its plans to increase its presence in the nations and regions, in terms of, for example, the value that this is designed to generate, both locally and nationally. These plans appear to be contradictory and muddled; we recommend that the BBC write to the Committee with a new, clear, achievable plan, within 6 months.