Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
BBC faces challenge to meet audio expenditure relocation targets after Concert Orchestra decision.
Conclusion
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
Government Response Summary
The gap in the program expenditure caused by the decision to not relocate the BBC Concert Orchestra has been closed as a result of additional activity included in the Radio & Music business case approved in May 2024.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
2.4 Since the programme baseline was set in October 2021, the nature and extent of overall programme expenditure moved outside of London has only changed subtly. The most material was the decision not to relocate the BBC Concert Orchestra outside London, which had a £23 million impact on the forecast financial benefit of the programme. This gap has now been closed as a result of additional activity included in the Radio & Music business case approved in May 2024. The BBC Concert Orchestra has also agreed a partnership with Nottingham and the East Midlands to ensure that much of the audience-facing benefit of the original proposal is still delivered.