Government sets out BBC review plans
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Loading... - J. OLIVEIRA
- 16 Jul 2020
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The publication of the document will be followed by a public consultation; while the government's review will be overseen by a panel of broadcasting experts, many of whom are thought to be critical of the BBC.
At the same time, the government is also publishing an independent report into whether non-payment of the licence fee should be decriminalised.
Several media reports suggest the review, led by David Perry QC, will say the current system is the only realistic way of tackling evasion.
About 3,000 people each week end up in court on evasion charges. In 2013, 32 people were jailed for not paying the resulting fine, down from 51 the previous year.
The BBC has argued that decriminalising licence fee evasion could cost it up to £200m.
Analysis: Mark Easton - Home editor
The government is firing the starting gun on what they hope will be a national debate about what kind of BBC we want to have in the future.
The culture secretary John Whittingdale has said it will cover the scope, the scale, the funding and the governance of the BBC. Not least the notion that the BBC should be a much smaller organisation providing public service broadcasting. In other words, specific programmes that the commercial sector cannot provide. It could mean an end to shows like EastEnders, The Voice and Strictly Come Dancing.
Meanwhile, we also expect to get the report into whether non-payment of the licence fee should remain a criminal offence. The expectation is that David Perry QC, who oversaw the report, will say criminalisation should stay.
