Have your say on the future of the BBC - Respond to the Government’s consultation on the BBC Charter

Have your say on the future of the BBC. By completing this form, you are responding to the Government’s consultation on the renewal of the BBC Charter. This will determine the BBC’s mission, public purposes, independence and governance for the next decade.

The BBC plays a pivotal role in the UK’s creative ecosystem, our democracy, and wider civic life. It provides good jobs for employees and freelancers, supports economic growth, strengthens national cohesion and ensures representation across regions and communities.

Add your voice to ensure a strong future for the BBC.

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I am writing as a BBC employee and member of the trade union Bectu, to register my views on the BBC’s Charter renewal.  The BBC plays a pivotal role in the UK’s creative ecosystem, our democracy, and wider civic life. It is also an employer of thousands of people both on permanent contracts and as freelancers, and this role should not be missed in the Charter renewal process. It is absolutely vital that the Charter sets an ambitious vision for the BBC, enabling it to perform its essential public functions, innovate and evolve, and invest in the people who make it work. Further thoughts on the main elements of this consultation can be found below. 1. The BBC’s Mission and Public Purposes The BBC’s current Mission remains as relevant today as when it was established. Its commitment to informing, educating, and entertaining the public ensures that all audiences across the UK have access to high-quality content that commercial broadcasters cannot consistently provide. Universality remains a defining feature, with services reaching 94% of UK adults each month and delivering 99% UK-made content.  Beyond cultural value, the BBC contributes substantially to economic growth, underpinning the creative industries through commissioning, production, and skills development. Its investment in distinctive UK content, including underserved genres such as arts, minority language programming, and local stories, strengthens national cohesion and ensures representation across regions and communities. Diversity must be embedded at all levels of the organisation, both on and behind the screen, to ensure that the content and decision-making truly reflect the breadth of UK society. 3. Trust, Standards, and the BBC as a Public Institution The BBC’s status as a trusted institution relies on high workplace standards, transparent governance, and fair pay.  Staff are central to the BBC’s ability to deliver public value, and ensuring safe, inclusive and professional workplaces is essential. Concerns over senior pay can undermine public confidence if this is perceived as disproportionate; remuneration must be transparently linked to value delivered to licence fee payers. Despite these pressures, the BBC remains the most trusted and widely used media brand in the UK, providing impartial content and distinctive programming that reinforces public confidence and supports social cohesion. 4. Accountability, Transparency, and Governance The BBC benefits from robust accountability mechanisms, but public understanding of decision-making processes remains limited. Greater engagement through consultative forums, regional input structures, and comprehensive audience research would strengthen responsiveness.  Board appointments and governance structures must ensure independence from government and a diversity of expertise, eliminating political influence and increasing transparency. Clear communication about commissioning decisions, editorial processes, and complaints handling is necessary to maintain trust and allow the public to scrutinise performance effectively. This process must include a representative who can ensure employee voice in the appointments process. 5. Independence and Editorial Freedom Independence from government is central to the BBC’s credibility. It allows the organisation to report impartially, hold those in power to account, and make editorial decisions free from political interference. Safeguards must be maintained to protect impartiality across commissioning, in-house production, and editorial content. The BBC should continue to operate at arm’s length from government while remaining accountable to regulators such as Ofcom and to Parliament in a structured and transparent way. 6. Delivering Public Value in a Changing Media Environment The BBC must continue to lead the way in responsible digital innovation. Emerging technologies, particularly AI, should be used transparently and ethically, enhancing creative output while ensuring creators receive credit and remuneration for their work. Staff should be consulted in any adoption of new technologies that may impact them. The BBC can also play a leadership role in supporting the wider creative sector to use AI responsibly and effectively.  7. News, Information, and Democratic Value Trusted, impartial news is a cornerstone of the BBC’s public value. Audiences rely on clear distinctions between news and opinion, consistent editorial standards, and transparency when errors occur. The BBC must be adequately resourced in order to deliver on impartiality.  The BBC is responsible for helping the public identify reliable information and combat misinformation. Its domestic and international news provision ensures access to accurate reporting, supporting democratic engagement and public understanding, particularly in an era of rapid technological and social change. 8. Distribution, Platforms, and Audience Reach The BBC may explore the use of third-party platforms to broaden access to its content, but any engagement must be approached cautiously to protect editorial independence, audience trust, and public service values. Public service content must remain easily discoverable, and the BBC’s direct relationship with audiences should not be compromised by reliance on external platforms. Careful consideration is needed to ensure that platform algorithms, commercial pressures, or data-sharing arrangements do not undermine the BBC’s mission or compromise the quality, impartiality, and distinctiveness of its output. 9. The BBC’s UK-Wide Economic and Cultural Impact The BBC’s UK-wide presence is central to its public service remit. Investment in the nations and regions not only strengthens representation and cultural reflection but also drives local economic growth through job creation, skills development, and support for creative clusters.Regional and national production quotas must be meaningful and enforced, providing long-term opportunities for freelancers who live and work in the regions and nations, senior decision-making roles, and real place-based growth rather than simply serving as a compliance exercise. The BBC’s economic and cultural impact extends far beyond London, reflecting its commitment to levelling up the UK’s creative industries.  10. Skills, Innovation, and the Creative Economy The BBC plays a pivotal role in developing the highly skilled workforce that fuels our creative sector. This applies not just to BBC staff, but to the freelance workforce who are critical to the BBC and the wider creative economy. Its investment in apprenticeships, training, and R&D strengthens the UK’s creative workforce, supports innovation, and maintains global competitiveness. Partnerships with universities, SMEs, and industry stakeholders ensure that talent development is targeted, sustained, and closely aligned with sector needs. This ecosystem approach ensures that the BBC not only produces content but also cultivates the next generation of creative professionals. 11. Funding the BBC: Fairness, Sustainability, and Value<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW280366 BCX0">Stable funding is not only critical to the BBC’s ability to deliver public value, but to the health of the whole creative industries ecosystem. Retaining the licence fee, adjusted for inflation, ensures the organisation can plan long term, support diverse services, and maintain independence from political or commercial pressures. We would be open to review the mechanisms of the license fee, requiring more households to pay (whilst recognising the current squeeze on household budgets) if this could increase overall revenue for the BBC. </div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW280366 BCX0">However, any reliance on advertising or subscriptions risks undermining universal access and the production of distinctive UK content. Concessions that protect households facing financial pressures, ensuring all citizens can access BBC services regardless of income, should not be shouldered by the BBC but treated as welfare measures, and must not be done in a way that jeopardises the BBC’s ability to deliver for all.  </div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW280366 BCX0">The BBC World Service is a vital part of the UK’s global soft power architecture and must receive secure, long-term funding directly from government. </div>12. Conclusion: The BBC’s Future Public Value The next Charter should ensure the BBC remains independent, accountable, and financially secure, while continuing to provide good jobs, drive innovation and reflect the diversity of the UK.  By safeguarding editorial independence, investing in regional economies, and sustaining skills and training across the creative industries, the BBC will continue to be the beating heart of our creative industries and play a central role in UK democracy, culture, and global reputation. Its universality, distinctiveness, and economic impact must remain cornerstones of its public purpose for the years ahead.<div></div>

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