DOCSLIB.ORG

Alexandra Palace Enjoys £27M Makeover

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Alexandra Palace Enjoys £27M Makeover The newspaper for retired BBC Pension Scheme members • February 2019 • Issue 1 PROSPERO ALEXANDRA PALACE ENJOYS £27M PENSION MAKEOVER SCHEME PAGE 9 | PENSIONS BENEFITS UPDATE internet access (of which Age UK claims there are Budget 2019 Carer’s Allowance nearly 4 million) are therefore missing out on this Key announcements from the chancellor’s Budget financial help. Age UK carried out a ‘mystery speech on 29 October 2018 include: – Scotland shopping’ exercise following repeated complaints In September 2018, Carer’s Allowance was the first from older people and their families about being • From April 2019 the National Living Wage will benefit to be transferred to Scotland under the unable to access services and entitlements if they increase from £7.83 an hour to £8.21. This is a Scotland Act 2016. Carers living in Scotland will are not computer users. £690 annual pay rise for a full-time worker; continue to receive Carer’s Allowance from the DWP An estimated £3.8 billion in pensioner benefits, • The Personal Allowance – the amount you earn on behalf of the Scottish government for the next two including Housing Benefit, goes unclaimed each year. before you have to start paying income tax – will years, as well as receiving a Carer’s Allowance According to Age UK, there are still 1.9 million increase by a further £650 in April 2019 to £12,500. Supplement from the Scottish government. pensioners living below the poverty line, with around This rise comes a year earlier than planned and will a million more just above this threshold who are be maintained in 2020; Power of attorney struggling to make ends meet. • The Higher Rate Threshold will increase from £46,350 to £50,000 in April 2019. This means that refunds in 2019/20, there will be nearly 1 million fewer Last year, the government set up a refund scheme higher rate taxpayers than in 2015/16. for nearly two million people who set up ‘power of Tell Us Once Tell Us Once is a service that lets you report a attorney’ arrangements over the past five years. higher rate £87.65 death to most government organisations in Attendance Allowance They estimate nearly two million people may be able one go. In 2017 to 2018, it was used by over lower rate £58.70 to get back part of their application fee, if they paid 360,000 people. Tell Us Once will notify Carer’s Allowance £66.15 to set up either lasting powers of attorney (LPA) organisations including: New State pension £168.60 or enduring powers of attorney (EPA) between • HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Old State pension £129.20 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017. The Office of the Public Guardian charged £110 to set up each type single £167.25 • DWP Pension Credit until April 2017, when it cut the fee to £82 after • HM Passport Office couple £255.25 building up an £89 million surplus. The surplus arose because greater numbers signed up than • Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) initially expected. You can find out more at: It will also contact some public sector pension Ofgem energy cap gov.uk/power-of-attorney-refund or you can call the schemes so that they cancel future pension Ofgem, the energy regulator, has confirmed that refunds helpline on 0300 456 0300. People have payments. Tell Us Once is not available in the cap for a standard dual fuel energy customer until February 2021 to make their refund claim. Northern Ireland or the following local authorities: will be £1,137 from 1 January 2019. The cap will Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, Eastbourne, save customers who use a typical amount of gas Harrow, Hastings, Lewes, Liverpool, Manchester, and electricity around £76 per year on average, Benefits online only Medway, Rother and Wealden. If you have with a typical customer on the most expensive tariff Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction – two of any questions about the service, email saving £120. The price cap level will be updated in the key benefits to which older people may be [email protected]. April and October every year to reflect the latest entitled – can only be claimed online, in four out of estimated costs of supplying electricity and gas, 10 councils. This means that older people without including wholesale energy costs. Northern Ireland has a separate energy regulator and already has a price cap. Available throughout the UK to VOLUNTEER Income tax in Wales VISITING BBC pensioners over age 70 From 6 April 2019, if you live in Wales, some of your SCHEME income tax will be paid to the Welsh government, which will be able to vary the rates of income tax paid Visitors are also by Welsh taxpayers. The National Assembly for Wales Visitors carry ID cards BBC pensioners has agreed the rates for 2019/20, which means there with them for your will be no overall change this year. security Probate changes Would you welcome In 2016 the government consulted on proposals to change fees charged for probate occasional contact with (which allows legal control over a deceased’s former colleagues? We can also offer estate) in England and Wales. In November 2018, support during draft legislation was laid before Parliament difficult times such as which would implement a banded structure of fees, based on the value of the estate, for a Over 2,000 pensioners bereavement grant of probate. already use the scheme At the moment, families pay a flat £215, or £155 Meet at home for a chat or if they apply through a solicitor, on estates over somewhere public like a £5,000. The threshold at which you’ll need to coffee shop EE S FF HO pay probate fees is set to be lifted to £50,000 O P C from April 2019 – according to the Ministry of Justice, this means an extra 25,000 estates per Operates from the year won’t pay any fees at all. But if the estate’s Pension and Benefits value is higher than this, you’ll see an increase in probate fees. Estates worth between £50,000 Centre and £300,000 will be charged £250, while the maximum charge is £6,000 for estates worth £2 million or more. Want to know more about what the VVS has to offer? The Ministry of Justice plans to publish guidance Call the pension service line on 029 2032 2811 or on ways to pay. email [email protected] 2 New Chair of the BBC Pension Scheme PROSPERO takes on future challenges Prospero is provided free of charge to retired Scheme In January, Catherine Claydon consistently positive feedback on its service level to members, or to their spouses and dependants. was appointed Chair of the members, and the communications with members are, Prospero provides a source of news on former BBC Pension Trust, replacing in my view, best in class in the industry. There is a colleagues, developments at the BBC and pension Bill Matthews who stepped strong focus amongst the Trustee Board on good issues, plus classified adverts. It is available online down in December 2017 after governance and a great deal of commitment across at bbc.co.uk/mypension seven years in the role. the organisation. I was particularly struck by the Volunteer Visiting Scheme, which involves pensioner To advertise in Prospero, please see page 12. Catherine was one of three members reaching out to other members for support professional Independent and company – what a wonderful project. Please send your editorial contributions, Trustees to join the Board last or comments/feedback, to: year following changes to its constitution. What are your/the Trustee Board’s main objective/ Prospero, BBC Pension and Benefits Centre, tasks for the next year? Prospero caught up with Catherine to find out a little Broadcasting House, Cardiff CF5 2YQ about her background, what her initial impressions are We will certainly have a full agenda for 2019. Email: [email protected] and the future challenges facing the Scheme. In addition to dealing with the volatile external market environment, the next triennial valuation will kick off Please make sure that any digital pictures you send What is your background and how did you come to at the end of March. We have a number of projects on are scanned at 300dpi. Please also note that the be a pension trustee? the investment front that are being moved forward, maximum word count for obituaries is 350 words. Prior to becoming a pension trustee, I had a 25-year and we continue to develop my Pension Online, career in the City, focusing on the financial markets. our online member service. Latterly, I was a Managing Director in the Pension The next time you hear from Catherine will probably Advisory Group at Goldman Sachs, developing be via the 2019 Summary Report, which is normally strategies for large pension funds to better manage Contents issued to members in the summer. their assets versus liabilities. In 2009, I moved from being a full-time banker to taking on a number of non-executive directorships, which included roles Pensions 2-3 linked to pension funds. Eileen Haughey What do you enjoy about being a pension trustee? Firstly, I find it very fulfilling to use the skills and joins the BBC knowledge I have built up over the years to help Letters 4-5 pension funds develop strategies to ensure their Trustee Board as an members’ benefits are secure. It is also fascinating and intellectually stimulating. All pension funds face independent Trustee a lot of uncertainty – for example, around what The BBC Pension Trust Ltd (‘the Trust’) announced Obituaries 6 long-term investment returns will be, how the specific the appointment of Eileen Haughey to the demographics of the membership will evolve over Trustee Board from 1 January 2019.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Managing the BBC's Estate
    Managing the BBC’s estate Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General presented to the BBC Trust Value for Money Committee, 3 December 2014 BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION Managing the BBC’s estate Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General presented to the BBC Trust Value for Money Committee, 3 December 2014 Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport by Command of Her Majesty January 2015 © BBC 2015 The text of this document may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing that it is reproduced accurately and not in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as BBC copyright and the document title specified. Where third party material has been identified, permission from the respective copyright holder must be sought. BBC Trust response to the National Audit Office value for money study: Managing the BBC’s estate This year the Executive has developed a BBC Trust response new strategy which has been reviewed by As governing body of the BBC, the Trust is the Trust. In the short term, the Executive responsible for ensuring that the licence fee is focused on delivering the disposal of is spent efficiently and effectively. One of the Media Village in west London and associated ways we do this is by receiving and acting staff moves including plans to relocate staff upon value for money reports from the NAO. to surplus space in Birmingham, Salford, This report, which has focused on the BBC’s Bristol and Caversham. This disposal will management of its estate, has found that the reduce vacant space to just 2.6 per cent and BBC has made good progress in rationalising significantly reduce costs.
    [Show full text]
  • The True Story of Mission to Hell Page 4
    The newspaper for BBC pensioners – with highlights from Ariel online The true story of Mission to Hell Page 4 August 2015 • Issue 4 Trainee Oh! What operators a lovely reunite – Vietnam War TFS 1964 50 years on Page 6 Page 8 Page 12 NEWS • MEMORIES • CLASSIFIEDS • YOUR LETTERS • OBITUARIES • CROSPERO 02 BACK AT THE BBC Departments Annual report highlights ‘better’ for BBC challenge move to Salford The BBC faces a challenge to keep all parts of the audience happy at the same time as efficiency targets demand that it does less. said that certain segments of society were more than £150k and to trim the senior being underserved. manager population to around 1% of But this pressing need to deliver more and the workforce. in different ways comes with a warning that In March this year, 95 senior managers Delivering Quality First (DQF) is set to take a collected salaries of more than £150k against bigger bite of BBC services. a target of 72. The annual report reiterates that £484m ‘We continue to work towards these of DQF annual savings have already been targets but they have not yet been achieved,’ achieved, with the BBC on track to deliver its the BBC admitted, attributing this to ‘changes Staff ‘loved the move’ from London to target of £700m pa savings by 2016/17. in the external market’ and the consolidation Salford that took place in 2011 and The first four years of DQF have seen of senior roles into larger jobs. departments ‘are better for it’, believes Peter Salmon (pictured). a 25% reduction in the proportion of the More staff licence fee spent on overheads, with 93% of Speaking four years on from the biggest There may be too many at the top, but the the BBC’s ‘controllable spend’ now going on ever BBC migration, the director, BBC gap between average BBC earnings and Tony content and distribution.
    [Show full text]
  • BBC Chair Role Spec
    Chair, BBC We are looking for an outstanding individual with demonstrable leadership skills and a passion for the media and public broadcasting, to represent the public interest in the BBC and maintain the Corporation's independence. As per the BBC Royal Charter, the Chair of the BBC Board must be appointed by Order in Council following a fair and open competition. The Governance Code, including the public ​ ​ ​ appointment principles, must be followed in making the appointment. The Commissioner for Public Appointments will ensure that the appointment is made in accordance with the Governance Code. Candidates should be aware that the preferred candidate for the post of Chair will be required to appear before a Parliamentary Select Committee prior to appointment. About the BBC ​ The BBC’s mission is defined by Royal Charter: to act in the public interest, serving all ​ ​ ​ audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain. ​ ​ ​ ​ The BBC is required to do this through delivering five public purposes: 1. To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them; 2. To support learning for people of all ages; 3. To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services; 4. To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom; and, 5. To reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world. The BBC is a public corporation, independent in all matters concerning the fulfilment of its mission and the promotion of the public purposes.
    [Show full text]
  • BBC Full Financial Statements 2013/14 01 Review of the Managing Director, BBC Finance & Operations
    BBC Full Financial St atement s 2013/14 BBC Full Financial St atement s 2013/14 Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by command of Her Majesty July 2014 The BBC’s Annual Report and Accounts 2013/14, giving narrative context to the numbers contained in this document, were also laid before Parliament on 21 July 2014 and are available online at bbc.co.uk/annualreport © BBC Copyright 2014 The text of this document (this excludes, where present, the Royal Arms and all departmental or agency logos) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium provided that it is reproduced accurately and not in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as BBC copyright and the document title specified. Photographs are used ©BBC or used under the terms of the PACT agreement except where otherwise identified. Permission from copyright holders must be sought before any photographs are reproduced. You can download this publication from bbc.co.uk/fullfinancialstatements Designed by Fishburn™ thisisfishburn.com Prepared pursuant to the BBC Royal Charter 2006 (Art.45) Contents 02 Review of the Managing Director BBC Finance & Operations 04 Financial overview 13 Looking forward 14 Statement of Executive Board responsibilities 15 Independent Auditor’s report 19 Group financial statements and notes 88 Glossary BBC Full Financial Statements 2013/14 01 Review of the Managing Director, BBC Finance & Operations ‘‘This year we have built on Delivering efficiencies whilst prioritising our most valued output our impressive track record The BBC has just completed its fourth year with the colour of delivering efficiencies whilst licence fee at £145.50 and is in the middle of delivering a major efficiency project, Delivering Quality First (DQF), which is on maintaining the production of track to deliver an annual total of £700million in annual recurrent outstanding programmes and savings.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report on the BBC 2019/20
    Ofcom’s Annual Report on the BBC 2019/20 Published 25 November 2020 Raising awarenessWelsh translation available: Adroddiad Blynyddol Ofcom ar y BBC of online harms Contents Overview .................................................................................................................................... 2 The ongoing impact of Covid-19 ............................................................................................... 6 Looking ahead .......................................................................................................................... 11 Performance assessment ......................................................................................................... 16 Public Purpose 1: News and current affairs ........................................................................ 24 Public Purpose 2: Supporting learning for people of all ages ............................................ 37 Public Purpose 3: Creative, high quality and distinctive output and services .................... 47 Public Purpose 4: Reflecting, representing and serving the UK’s diverse communities .... 60 The BBC’s impact on competition ............................................................................................ 83 The BBC’s content standards ................................................................................................... 89 Overview of our duties ............................................................................................................ 96 1 Overview This is our third
    [Show full text]
  • Age-Related Tv Licence Policy in the Bailiwick of Guernsey
    AGE-RELATED TV LICENCE POLICY IN THE BAILIWICK OF GUERNSEY Public Consultation Published: 30 July 2020 1 Contents Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Context ............................................................................................................................................ 6 The BBC and Guernsey ............................................................................................................. 6 Age-related TV licence policy ................................................................................................. 6 The BBC’s consultation ................................................................................................................ 8 The BBC Board’s current thinking .......................................................................................... 8 Fairness ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Financial impact ....................................................................................................................... 10 Feasibility .................................................................................................................................. 10 Equality implications ................................................................................................................... 10 Other options the BBC considered in the UK .......................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Britbox Materiality Assessment – Final Determination Relationship Between Britbox and the BBC’S Public Service Activities
    BritBox materiality assessment – final determination Relationship between BritBox and the BBC’s Public Service activities Britbox materiality assessment – final determination – Welsh summary STATEMENT: Publication date: 19 September 2019 BritBox materiality assessment – final determination Overview This document explains our final decision on whether the BBC’s involvement in BritBox, a new subscription video on demand service with ITV, represents a ‘material change’ to its commercial activities. When the BBC engages in a new or significantly changed activity, the BBC’s Charter requires it to consider whether this is a material change to its commercial activities. If so, the change would require further detailed examination prior to launch. The BBC Board assessed the corporation’s proposed involvement in BritBox, and determined it was not material. Under the Charter, Ofcom must also consider this question, as part of our role to protect fair and effective competition. 1 BritBox materiality assessment – final determination What we have decided – in brief There is not a significant risk that the BBC’s proposed involvement in BritBox will distort the market or create an unfair competitive advantage. Our specific role is to consider whether this might happen as a result of the relationship between the BBC’s commercial activities, which would include the BBC’s involvement in BritBox, and its publicly-funded activities (the BBC’s ‘Public Service’). Although the BBC is only taking a 10% stake in BritBox, there is potential for issues to emerge as the venture develops. We already have measures in place to regulate the boundary between the Public Service and the BBC’s commercial activities and we can use these to address most concerns, if they materialise.
    [Show full text]
  • Culture, Media and Sport Committee
    House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee Future of the BBC Fourth Report of Session 2014–15 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 10 February 2015 HC 315 INCORPORATING HC 949, SESSION 2013-14 Published on 26 February 2015 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Culture, Media and Sport Committee The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its associated public bodies. Current membership Mr John Whittingdale MP (Conservative, Maldon) (Chair) Mr Ben Bradshaw MP (Labour, Exeter) Angie Bray MP (Conservative, Ealing Central and Acton) Conor Burns MP (Conservative, Bournemouth West) Tracey Crouch MP (Conservative, Chatham and Aylesford) Philip Davies MP (Conservative, Shipley) Paul Farrelly MP (Labour, Newcastle-under-Lyme) Mr John Leech MP (Liberal Democrat, Manchester, Withington) Steve Rotheram MP (Labour, Liverpool, Walton) Jim Sheridan MP (Labour, Paisley and Renfrewshire North) Mr Gerry Sutcliffe MP (Labour, Bradford South) The following Members were also a member of the Committee during the Parliament: David Cairns MP (Labour, Inverclyde) Dr Thérèse Coffey MP (Conservative, Suffolk Coastal) Damian Collins MP (Conservative, Folkestone and Hythe) Alan Keen MP (Labour Co-operative, Feltham and Heston) Louise Mensch MP (Conservative, Corby) Mr Adrian Sanders MP (Liberal Democrat, Torbay) Mr Tom Watson MP (Labour, West Bromwich East) Powers The Committee is one of the Departmental Select Committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 What Can an Understanding of the Operation of the BBC Monitoring
    What can an understanding of the operation of the BBC Monitoring Service during WWII tell us about the value of the transcripts? Laura Johnson, The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford The majority of the papers given today will consider the potential value of the BBC Monitoring transcripts to an understanding of particular aspects of the Second World War. As my research has focused on the operation of the BBC Monitoring Service, I thought it would be helpful to add some context from this perspective regarding the collection as a whole. First, I will look at collection priorities: what the BBC Monitoring Service was collecting and why. Second, I am going to focus on editorial selection, as I should like to make clear what the differences are between the monitoring transcripts and the edited Daily Digests, which were circulated to customers. This is important because copies of the Digests are held elsewhere and are available on microfilm. One of the main purposes of this network, as well as raising awareness of the BBC Monitoring Service, has been to assess the particular unique value of the transcript collection. So I think we have to be clear exactly what extra information this transcript collection provides. In relation to this, I am also going to talk about a small quantitative assessment I made to assess the uniqueness of the transcript collection. Finally, as well as the extra volume of material that the transcript collection contains, it also provides some additional types of information that the Digests do not. I will therefore conclude by mentioning some aspects of this additional value of the transcript collection.
    [Show full text]
  • Written Evidence Submitted by the BBC
    Written evidence submitted by the BBC The DCMS Sub-committee on Online Harms and Disinformation Covid-19 Inquiry April 2020 Executive summary 1. The BBC is the leading public service broadcaster in the UK, with a mission to inform, educate and entertain. Our first public purpose is to provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them, and we deliver this across national, local and global news services.1 2. The Editorial Guidelines are the standards that underpin all our journalism, at all times, including during the Covid-19 pandemic. They apply to all our content, wherever and however it is received. Producing and upholding these Editorial Guidelines is an obligation across the BBC and all output made in accordance with these Editorial Guidelines fulfills our public purposes and meets and goes beyond the requirements of our regulator, Ofcom. 3. Coverage of Covid-19 is dominating the UK news across all platforms. And with a plethora of cross platform content, people are most likely to turn to the BBC’s TV, radio and online services for the latest news on the pandemic (82%)2, significantly more than any other source. 4. BBC News has attracted record audiences across platforms with our nations and regions, UK wide and international coverage highlighting the importance of impartial and accurate news at this time. 5. The BBC remains the UK’s primary source for news. In a world of fake news and disinformation online, audiences said they turn to the BBC for a reliable take on events and this reputation for accuracy and trust sends audiences to the BBC during breaking news and to verify facts.3 During the Covid-19 pandemic 83% of people trust coverage on BBC TV4; and audiences from the UK and around the world have come to BBC News in their millions to stay informed and seek trusted advice on how they can protect themselves and those most at risk.
    [Show full text]
  • The Importance of BBC Monitoring for Intelligence Sir David Omand, Former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, and UK Join
    The Importance of BBC Monitoring for Intelligence Sir David Omand, former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, and UK Joint Intelligence Committee member During my seven years as a member of the UK Joint Intelligence Committee, I came to know the huge previously unsung value of the BBC Monitoring service (BBCM), for improving understanding in government, of the world outside our borders. Not a part of the secret intelligence community, BBCM provided us with a service of up to date information from the study of foreign TV and radio broadcasts, conventional print media and wire services, and today no doubt from the monitoring of digital media and websites. That open source information is as essential to the practice of diplomacy and international policy-making, as it must be to modern BBC programming. Sometimes it would be a unique insight from the interpretation of a foreign leader’s broadcast at a time of impending crisis, or those of his opponents. Sometimes it would be enhancing background understanding, from reporting on the evolution of opinions that matter over a period, all carried out by analysts whose language skills and cultural awareness enabled them to interpret the other. During the Cold War BBCM was able to provide a window into the social and economic evolution of otherwise largely closed societies behind the Iron Curtain, and even today there are still nations where the ability to monitor and interpret state- controlled media is essential. Much of the earlier Cold War period material has been archived and will increasingly become available to scholars of the period, providing new lines of research, from studying the open information that would have been available to decision makers in the West, at crucial times of tension.
    [Show full text]
  • Broadcasting House Hosts 2015 PLM Page 2
    The newspaper for BBC pensioners – with highlights from Ariel online Broadcasting House hosts 2015 PLM Page 2 Dec 2015 • Issue 6 Memories Pensions PIE Memories at Ariel explained of ‘66 Flying Club Page 3 Page 4 Page 6 NEWS • MEMORIES • CLASSIFIEDS • YOUR LETTERS • OBITUARIES • CROSPERO 02 BBC PENSIONS 2015 Pensioners’ Liaison Meeting The 2015 Pensioners’ Liaison ‘Running the BBC Pension Scheme – Historically low bond yields ‘The aim of the plan is to provide recovery with assets of between £12-£13 billion, in event of a real disaster. We held a rehearsal The two key markets the Scheme is interested Meeting was held at the Radio depending on what the markets are doing in mid-September at Wood Norton, where in are equity markets and government bonds. – is like running a huge financial business. I the scenario was a complete closure of the Theatre in Broadcasting House, Equity markets have performed very strongly believe the Scheme is in good hands, and the building in Cardiff and all systems lost. We since the trough in 2009, with a bit of a dip London on 22 October. job I do is made a whole lot easier thanks to went to Evesham and managed to get the down over the last few months. On long-term Joy Moore and her team.’ system back up and operational – it was a government bonds (Gilts), however, the yield Bill paid tribute to Joy, who will be leaving complete success.’ has come down to historically low levels. the Scheme next year. ‘This will be Joy’s last The Trustee team had asked James Hacker Looking at the Scheme’s longer-term meeting of this nature.
    [Show full text]