Select committee: Communications and Digital Committee

Conclusion 2

1st Report - Licence to change: BBC future funding Published 18 Jul 2022 Paragraph 26
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The BBC’s mission to ‘inform, educate, entertain’ has stood the test of time. But the way in which it is delivered needs to change for it to remain relevant in this rapidly changing market and society. The BBC needs to be guided in how it should change by a clearly articulated strategic purpose and vision, as we set out in Chapter 3.

From: Communications and Digital Committee, 1st Report - Licence to change: BBC future funding, paragraph 26, 18 July 2022

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 26 October 2022 (deadline 13 October 2022).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government welcomes the Committee's report and says it "remain[s] committed to conducting a review of the funding model", with further details to be set out "in due course".

  • It agrees with the Committee's view that the licence fee's drawbacks are becoming more salient and that a comprehensive review is "a necessity", and says it will take the Committee's proposed core principles into account as it prepares to launch a review.
  • On independent market impact studies, it says it "will consider" the recommendation, and the potential for commissioning and publishing them, "as planning for the review progresses".
  • On the three funding models the Committee does not recommend (recommendations 9, 10 and 12), it says it "will set out its position" "following the review", and on radio behind a paywall it does "not want to rule out options at this stage".
  • On public engagement, it expects the review to "engage widely with stakeholders" and says the Charter Review will follow the requirement to consult the public and Parliament; it does not commit to a separate plan or citizens' assemblies.

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