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Do you agree or disagree that the BBC’s current Mission and Public Purposes should remain the same?
🟢 We Agree.
CFTA believes that the BBC’s unique role in supporting the arts and culture is well served by the current Mission and Public Purposes.
To what extent do you agree or disagree that the BBC should have a specific Public Purpose to support economic growth?
🔴 We Disagree.
The creative economy is already taken into consideration under the BBC’s 4th Public Purpose. In the framing of Purpose 4, the diverse communities of the UK come first, and as a result of serving these the creative economy benefits. CFTA believes that this is the right way to understand the BBC’s economic contribution, stemming from its role in the creative ecosystem. A separate mission that puts economic growth first would be redundant, and risks losing this people-first ethos.
You can find out more about the BBC’s contribution to the creative economy in section 2 of our report.
Which option, if any, most closely represents your feelings on whether the BBC should continue to provide a wide range of content and services that represent all audiences in a way that brings communities together, supports social cohesion, and helps build a unifying national story throughout the next Charter period?
🔵 We have answered that the BBC should do more to represent all audiences.
As we highlight in our report in section 4, the BBC plays a vital role in sharing the stories of all kinds of people across the country, through diverse mediums. This a real strength of the BBC, and doing more will only enhance the social and cultural benefits.
If you agree that the BBC should continue or do more to play this role, what options aiming to improve how the BBC reflects and represents all audiences do you support, if any?
🔵 We have selected all of these options.
As we discuss in our report in section 3, the BBC is distinctive by producing diverse, innovative content including taking risks on new artists and ideas that other broadcasters would not. It brings people together around shared moments, and shares diverse perspectives. These are all important for its role as a cultural organisation.
To what extent do you agree or disagree that new requirements on the BBC should be introduced so that the BBC does more to improve workplace standards?
🟠 We neither agree nor disagree.
Workplace standards are highly important, and the BBC plays an important role as an employer providing stability and fairness in an industry that is otherwise fraught with precarity (we discuss this in our report in sections 1, 2, and 4). However, the best way for ensuring workplace standards falls outside of areas of expertise at CFTA.
How, if at all, does the amount those working for the BBC are paid impact your view of the BBC?
As we have discussed in our report in section 2, the BBC offers relatively good pay and employment conditions in a sector that is otherwise characterised by low pay and widespread precarity, and its role as a responsible employer is therefore significant. The ability to pay its staff well is vital for the BBC’s continued role supporting the entire sector. Public funding must, of course, be used carefully and proportionately. At the same time, the BBC needs to remain competitive in order to attract and retain the skilled staff required to deliver its public service mission.
There is no evidence identifying a correlation between on-screen salaries and public trust.
To what extent do you agree or disagree that the BBC is currently accountable to the public?
🟢 We Agree.
The BBC’s independence and public funding positions it accountably to the public (we discuss this in the concluding section of our report).
However, we support efforts to bolster and increase accountability; as included in a joint statement that CFTA has endorsed by the Public Service Media Forum.
Which of the following options aiming to enhance the BBC’s accountability, if any, do you support?
🔵 We have selected Other, please specify.
We agree that accountability is an important principle.
While many of the survey’s options are positive, we are conscious of the administrative burdens that additional requirements could place on the BBC, and this would require further evaluation.
Determining appropriate accountability mechanisms falls outside of our area of expertise at CFTA, but we are supporting efforts in this area via the Voice of the Listener & Viewer’s Public Service Media Forum.
The government is considering targeted changes to increase transparency in the BBC to enhance BBC accountability over the next Charter period. Which options, if any, do you support?
🔵 We have selected Other, please specify.
We believe transparency is an important principle, and we would welcome more important information being shared. However, requirements on the BBC must not be so burdensome as to impede its core activity/mission.
Why, if at all, does the BBC’s independence matter to you?
🔵 We have selected all of these options.
The BBC’s independence matters to us for all of the stated reasons. As a cultural organisation, it is essential for the BBC to be able to share the UK’s arts and culture impartially and apolitically. In section 5 of our report, we discuss the BBC’s role in bringing people together, and this is enabled through the BBC’s independence.
It is vital for the BBC’s ability to take creative risks, including the risk of offending some sensibilities by addressing controversial subjects or giving a platform to controversial perspectives. In section 3 of our report we discuss the diversity of creative content the BBC produces.
We believe the BBC’s creative independence is a core principle that should be reflected in how it is funded, and make this case in the conclusion of our report.
What measures to increase the BBC’s independence from government, if any, should be prioritised to support greater trust in, and engagement with, the BBC?
Creative independence is essential for the BBC to offer both choice and challenge.
Its funding must be guardrailed from political interference and commercial influence, in order to sustain this function (see p53).
We would therefore support measures that place decision-making about the BBC’s funding at an arm’s length from government.
What, if anything, should the BBC focus on to ensure AI is used for the public good, and for the benefit of the wider creative industries?
🔵 We have selected the first four options, but not the final two.
We believe the BBC should focus on transparency and ethical standards in the use of AI. Where AI content is included in any BBC programming it should be clearly signposted; we believe that people have the right to know if they are listening to a musician or a machine. Supporting people in understanding and critiquing AI is also relevant to the BBC’s educational remit (we discuss the BBC’s role in education in section 1 of our report).
However, we do not recommend the point on AI efficiencies, as this could include a wide spectrum of uses including some means of achieving efficiency at the cost of human employment or of quality (we discuss the importance of the BBC as an employer of artists in section 2 of our report). We also do not support an obligation for the BBC to mediate between the sector and large AI companies who are currently under-regulated and largely unaccountable in the UK, as this role would likely place a disproportionate burden on the BBC.
What kind of programming, if any, do you think the BBC should make more visible on its platforms?
🔵 We have selected Arts, religious and international affairs programming.
We support the other points also, however as we discuss in our report the BBC’s role in delivering diverse and innovative arts and cultural programmes is unique (see section 3), and serves a critical role in our social fabric (see section 5).
To what extent do you agree or disagree that the BBC should make greater use of third party platforms to share its content?
🟠 We have selected Neither agree nor disagree.
Reflecting on your response above, please explain why you agree or disagree that the BBC should make greater use of third party platforms to share its content.
💬 The BBC is already making use of third party platforms. Reaching people where they are to share BBC content is broadly positive, especially for young people. This needs to be balanced with the BBC maintaining its own, strong distribution platforms and channels.
What, if anything, do you believe would improve the value and relevance of BBC news and current affairs to you?
🟠 We have selected unsure or no opinion as this falls outside of CFTA’s purview.
Thinking about the next Charter period, what role, if any, do you think the BBC should have in ensuring UK citizens can recognise and access trusted and accurate information?
We believe the BBC is a form of social infrastructure that helps to create a shared national dialogue that prevents fragmentation (see section 5 of our report).
When considering the BBC’s role in maintaining a healthy information ecosystem, it’s often thought of purely through the lens of news. However, the BBC’s arts and culture provision helps to promote universality and create a shared social fabric. Furthermore, critical thinking is bolstered by engaging with arts and cultural content, and this supports citizens to meaningfully evaluate the information they are presented with across platforms.
The BBC’s international output showcases the UK, its culture and its values to a global audience. This includes the BBC World Service, which seeks to provide access to trusted news around the world in an increasingly challenging international environment. To what extent do you agree it is important that the BBC continues to perform these roles internationally?
🟢 We strongly agree.
As we discuss in our report, the BBC plays a crucial role in platforming UK arts and culture internationally (see p39). It does this beyond the World Service, by enabling the export of top quality programming and supporting UK artists who go on to develop international careers.
What, if anything, do you value about the BBC being UK-wide?
🔵 We have selected all of these points.
As we discuss in our report, the BBC creates opportunities for artists and venues across the UK to reach national audiences (see section 2), and supports the expression of local cultures across the nation (see section 4). We see local arts coverage as an area when the BBC could expand its activity, sharing more local stories about the arts and culture.
To what extent do you agree or disagree that the BBC should be required to spread more of its spending, activities, and decision-making across nations and regions of the UK?
🟢 We agree.
As we discuss in our report, the BBC does better than its competitors in spreading its spending across the UK (see p26). However, there would be benefit in extending this activity even further.
Which option(s), if any, would you support for spreading the BBC’s economic impact and role supporting the production sector across the UK nations and regions?
🔵 We have selected Other: please specify.
💬 We believe spreading BBC’s economic impact and role across the UK nations and regions is important (see sections 2 and 4 in our report), and we welcome moves to do this more. However, requirements on the BBC must not be so burdensome as to impede its core activity and mission.
🐞 NB at the time of writing, there appears to a bug in this question on the form which prevents submitting any text. We have notified DCMS and hope that this is rectified soon.
🟠 In the meantime, we have selected Unsure or no opinion
What, if anything, do you think the BBC could do to fill skills gaps in the creative sector?
As we discuss in our report, the BBC plays a vital role in providing training and support within an industry that is often characterised by precarity and lack of development opportunities (see report sections 1 and 2). Further increasing the BBC’s training and support offer would benefit many individuals in diverse careers across the sector, and boost the creative industries overall. It is important that the BBC’s offer supports the full diversity of the arts, with opportunities for showcasing across artforms, and for training across the whole spectrum of creative work.
If you represent an organisation that has worked with the BBC in the past, please share your reflections and provide evidence on your experience of how your partnership has worked and how it could be improved.
🟠 Not applicable to CFTA.
If you are responding on behalf of an organisation with an interest in R&D (e.g. a production company, university, a technology hardware company), how would you like to see the BBC supporting innovation?
💬 As an organisation that conducts research, we would support the BBC sharing more open data. We would also welcome greater transparency around the BBC’s design and use of algorithms, for example in how content is recommended to audiences.
If you represent an organisation in the creative industries, please share your reflections on your experience of the current market impact regulation process and how it could be improved.
💬 As we discuss in our report, the BBC plays an overwhelmingly positive role in supporting the creative industries across the UK, especially in the creative clusters around its hubs (see p26). As this question is framed around experience of market impact regulation, it implies that only organisations who have had to engage in competition with the BBC are called to answer, and this risks a bias in the responses towards competitive cases. Our research has found that the BBC primarily plays a supportive role in the industry.
To what extent do you agree that the licence fee should continue to fund a wide range of services and output that aim to inform, educate and entertain audiences?
🟢 We strongly agree.
Though we feel there may be different suitable models of funding beyond the current licence fee, we strongly agree that the BBC must have stable public funding which it uses to deliver services for public benefit, aligned with its mission.
We discuss this in the conclusion of our report, where we present principles for funding the BBC. The BBC’s funding must be sufficient for it to be diverse and generous in its offer (see p51).
🟢 We strongly agree.
Though we feel there may be different suitable models of funding beyond the current licence fee, we strongly agree that the BBC must have stable public funding which it uses to deliver a broad range of benefits to society and the creative economy.
We believe that, when taken together, these benefits make the BBC a vital part of our social infrastructure (p44).
In the final section of our report, we include principles that we believe should underpin the BBC’s future funding in order to safeguard these benefits.
To what extent do you agree that the scope of the licence fee should be reformed to support the BBC’s long term sustainability, which could involve requiring more households to pay but with each paying less?
🟢 We strongly agree.
In the concluding section of our report, we discuss the licence fee including some issues present in its current form.
We support reform of the licence fee – however, to ensure that the BBC can continue to perform its vital role as a cultural organisation, we believe any future funding model should be universal, sufficient, automatic, guardrailed and equitable.
To what extent do you agree or disagree that BBC content or services should carry advertising, bearing in mind how this could provide a new income stream for the BBC, how it might impact the audience experience and the impact on other broadcasters?
🔴 We have selected No Advertising.
Advertising is highly unpopular with audiences and would reduce the BBC’s uniqueness and reputation. Furthermore, it risks undermining editorial independence and influencing programming choices, which could reduce the diversity and quality of the BBC’s arts and cultural offer.
In the conclusion of our report, we argue that the BBC must be guardrailed from both political and commercial pressures that could reduce the universality and diversity of its offer (see p53).
Would you be willing to pay for a BBC top-up subscription service focused on premium and entertainment content, in addition to your licence fee, assuming it was a similar price to other popular video-on-demand subscription services?
🔴 We have selected strongly disagree.
We feel this question is not framed correctly. As an individual, one may agree that on a personal level paying extra would be worthwhile, however this framing misses the crucial role of the BBC as social infrastructure that benefits society and serves everyone equally. We oppose creating a second-class tier of access to the BBC.
The BBC is not a “popular video-on-demand subscription service” – it is a shared asset in which we should all have an equal stake.
The universality of the BBC’s funding is therefore critical, as we discuss in the conclusion of our report (see p50), as is open access (see p52).
To what extent do you agree or disagree that new concessions for households facing significant financial pressures should be introduced?
🟢 We have selected Agree.
The BBC’s important role in arts and culture depends on its sustainability and goodwill from the public. This requires equity and the perception of fairness in the system. A more progressive model would aid this.
However it is vital that the quality of BBC services is upheld and not compromised, so it must be sufficiently funded. We discuss this in the conclusion of our report (see p54).
To what extent do you agree or disagree that technology should be used to support compliance, for example by requiring households using BBC iPlayer to enter details from their TV licence?
🔴 We have selected Disagree.
It is important that contribution to the BBC is universal and automatic, so we that all have an equal stake and contribute, but also so that there are no barriers or limits to access.
Under the current licence fee funding model, there is a risk to the sufficiency of the BBC’s income. Introducing checks could help to uphold sufficiency, but it would diminish the automatic and universal access to the BBC that we want (see p54).
Do you have any other views on the BBC’s funding model that you wish to share?
💬 The concluding section of our report outlines our perspective on the BBC’s funding. We believe that the BBC’s funding model should be reformed, but must uphold five key principles that support the BBC’s role as a cultural organisation:
You’re about to see the official survey, live from the Government’s website, for you to enter ✏️ Your response. (CFTA does not collect any of the data you submit.)
You do not need to answer every question, and we encourage you to put forward your own views in your own words. There are 5 sections and 30 questions: it should take around 10 minutes.
Click the 📖 Our response tab if you would find it useful to see how the Campaign for the Arts responded – and why, with reference to our report, A Stage for the Nation.
The deadline for responses is 11:59pm on Tuesday 10 March 2026. Thank you for taking the time to protect and strengthen the BBC’s unique role in UK arts and culture at this important moment!