The BBC’s commitment to audiences extends beyond the policy for individual services. We also make significant commitments which apply across our services.
Diversity
The BBC aims to reflect the reality of diversity in its output and through mainstream and targeted services to offer something for everyone in the UK, irrespective of age, class, gender, disability, cultural identity or location.
However, there are still some groups in society who continue to need a more proactive approach from the BBC – as both a broadcaster and an employer – in how we represent and echo their lives.
We will continue to work to increase the proportion of people from ethnic minority groups who work for the BBC. Our target is to increase this proportion to 12.5% overall and 7% for senior management by March 2008.
The BBC also has a minimum employment target for disabled staff, and our target is to increase this to 4% by March 2008.
All newly submitted programme proposals have a diversity statement attached highlighting how, where appropriate, the programme will fulfil the BBC’s commitment to reflecting the diversity of the licence fee paying public, both on and off screen. We will continue to assess how effectively this enables us to deliver against our pledge.
Access
The BBC is a founder member of the Broadcasters’ Disability Network, and is committed to:
Universal availability of BBC services
We will continue to ensure that all our services remain universally available and free to air, and that licence fee payers are able to access them through new media as relevant technologies develop. Our digital services are available on Freeview, satellite and cable in the manner and to the extent that each platform allows.
Training
The BBC will continue to invest in training and developing its employees’ skill base. We will also devote time, expertise and money as our contribution to industry-wide training and development initiatives, and will continue to run specific schemes designed to attract people to the broadcasting industry.
Accountability
The BBC, as an open and transparent organisation which is trusted by the public it serves, seeks to engage its audiences in dialogue, to learn from them and to respond honestly to what they have to say.
Our information service is available to audiences 24 hours every day of the year, handling around 2.5 million contacts over the year by telephone, email and letter. These range from general enquiries to specific complaints about programme content. The quality of our responses to audience concerns is audited to ensure that high standards are maintained.
We have a newly established complaints handling process which makes it easy for the public to make a formal complaint and obtain a speedy response. There is a two-stage appeal process for anyone unhappy with the initial response they receive. The Governors’ Programme Complaints Committee is the final stage of the process inside the BBC. (See www.bbc.co.uk/feedback.)
The BBC organises regular public consultations and carries out extensive audience research to listen to the views of licence fee payers. This includes ad hoc studies into the interests and needs of particular sections of the audience and the use and value of particular services, as well as an ongoing monthly survey which tracks audience perceptions of the organisation and its output. In addition, a network of voluntary independent advisers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland provides direct feedback on BBC services.
The BBC Trust – replacing the BBC Board of Governors next year – will monitor the BBC’s performance and will publish its assessment next year.
