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Regulatory framework.

The Charter and Agreement require the BBC and the Trust to publish documents explaining the BBC's purposes, setting out its policies and priorities, and describing the remits of its services.

Digital Switchover Help Scheme

3 April 2008

The BBC's Agreement (at Clause 39) requires that the BBC must comply with a scheme agreed with the Secretary of State concerning the provision of specified help to specified categories of persons, for the purpose of enabling them to continue to view the UK public television services when and after they are affected by digital switchover.

The Digital Switchover Help Scheme (DSHS) was agreed between the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and the BBC in the form of a Scheme Agreement. Following delivery of the scheme in Whitehaven, the terms of the scheme as set out in the Scheme Agreement were reviewed and a number of changes were agreed between the BBC Trust and DCMS.

The DSHS is designed to help those groups most likely to have difficulty in making the switch to digital television. The scheme is open to anyone who is aged 75 or over, seriously disabled, or blind or partially sighted. It is funded by a ring-fenced allocation of the BBC’s TV licence fee (estimated costs £603 million), and run by the BBC through DSHS Ltd, a 100% BBC-owned subsidiary. The BBC is responsible for delivering the scheme although day to day operation is contracted out to a third party, eaga plc. DSHS Ltd is responsible for ensuring that the contractor delivers the scheme as set out in the Scheme Agreement.

The Trust's main role in relation to the DSHS is set out in Schedule 2 (section B, paragraph 5) of the Scheme Agreement which states that the BBC Trust is responsible for holding the BBC Executive to account for ensuring that value for money is achieved in the operation of the scheme. To that end, in February 2008 the Trust set success criteria for the scheme which it will use to monitor and assess the scheme's performance throughout the life of the scheme, to ensure that licence fee payers' money is spent in the most cost effective way.