The Campaign for the Arts has welcomed the findings of two Parliamentary inquiries into the future of the BBC, led by cross-party committees of MPs and peers.
The House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee concluded that the BBC “brings many benefits to our national life”, including to the creative sector and to social cohesion, and that “to preserve the BBC as an institution for the nation, we must maintain a means of universal funding”. Their final report contained several references to the Campaign for the Arts’ written evidence, in which we underlined the need for a bold rethinking of the BBC’s funding model and emphasised its essential role in widening access to the arts for everybody.
The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee concluded that “the Government should set out a bold, confident and unapologetic approach to the BBC’s long-term financial sustainability”. Their recommendations to the Government cited the Campaign for the Arts’ oral evidence, in which we described the BBC as “far more than just a broadcaster” and detailed the many benefits it delivers for artists, cultural organisations, local communities and the nation. The Committee agreed with our recommendation that, instead of giving the BBC a new stated purpose to drive economic growth, the Government should embolden the BBC to serve audiences and communities first, with economic benefits flowing from that activity.
Responding to the Lords select committee’s findings on 18 September, CFTA Director Jack Gamble said:
“I’m grateful to the Communications and Digital Committee for asking the Campaign for the Arts to give evidence to their inquiry on the BBC Charter, and I fully support their conclusions in Baroness Keeley’s excellent letter to the Culture Secretary.
The government can and should be “bold, confident and unapologetic” in securing the future of the BBC. It is our largest cultural organisation and a cornerstone of our creative industries. It is also an antidote to the forces of fragmentation – a truly national asset which belongs to us all and connects us to one another.
A stronger BBC will make for a stronger UK – but it will need a stronger funding model, and real ambition from the UK Government at this pivotal moment.”
Responding to the Commons select committee’s findings on 1 October, CFTA Director Jack Gamble said:
“We welcome this report from the DCMS Select Committee, and in particular its recognition of the vital importance of the BBC to the UK’s creative ecosystem and national life.
Today, only 80% of households contribute to the BBC, but 94% of us use it each month and 100% of us benefit from its existence. The BBC is social glue, economic fuel, cultural and democratic sustenance. It is simply not possible to opt out of the benefits it brings to the UK and everyone in it – and that’s why it should be funded by everyone and made accessible to everyone, free at the point of use.
We passionately agree with the Committee that ‘a means of universal funding’ must once again underpin this universal public service, and with their urging the Government ‘to keep an open mind on a household levy as a potential future model for funding the BBC’. Ministers can and should be bold in crafting a new Charter for the BBC, built from first principles and built to last.”
