BBC EXECUTIVE BOARD 11 DECEMBER 2007 1000 - 1430 Room 3028, 3rd floor, Broadcasting House
Attendees...... 1 Agenda...... 2 1. MINUTES FROM EXECUTIVE BOARD ON 13 NOVEMBER 2007 AND CONFERENCE CALLS HELD ON 16 AND 20 NOVEMBER 2007 ...... 3 2. DIRECTOR REPORTS ...... 3 3. BBC CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS: THE WAY FORWARD...... 3 4. TALENT AT THE BBC ...... 4 5. DIGITAL SWITCHOVER...... 4 6. bbc.co.uk SERVICE REVIEW...... 4 7. APPOINTMENTS...... 5 8. GAELIC PUBLIC VALUE TEST (PVT)...... 5 9. DIGITAL MEDIA INTIATIVE...... 6 10. TRAINING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES REPORT ...... 6 12. MANAGEMENT RESPONSE TO OFCOM’S DISCUSSION OF CHILDREN’S TELEVISION ...... 7 13. LEARNING LESSONS FROM THE BUSINESS CONTINUITY REHEARSAL...... 7 14. LEARNING UPDATE ...... 7 15. MINUTES FROM FINANCE COMMITTEE HELD ON 4 OCTOBER AND 5 NOVEMBER 2007...... 8
Attendees
Present: Mark Thompson Director-General (Chair) Jenny Abramsky Director, Audio & Music Jana Bennett Director, Vision Mark Byford Deputy Director-General Tim Davie Director, Marketing, Communications & Audiences Steve Kelly Director, BBC People Ashley Highfield Director, Future Media & Technology Zarin Patel Group Finance Director Caroline Thomson Chief Operating Officer John Smith Chief Executive, BBC Worldwide Marcus Agius Senior non-executive director Mike Lynch Non-executive director (via teleconference) Samir Shah Non-executive director (from item Robert Webb Non-executive director
With: Jessica Cecil Head of the Director-General’s Office Lynsey Bigger Head of the Executive Unit (secretary) Charles Toomer Head of Risk (item 2e) Bal Samra Director of Vision Operations & Rights (item 4) James Lancaster Head of Rights & Business Affairs (item 4) Richard Waghorn Controller of Distribution (item 5) David Fawcett Head of Policy Development (item 6) Ayesha Mohideen Project Lead, bbc.co.uk review (item 6) Pat Loughrey Director, Nations & Regions (item 8) Ken MacQuarrie Controller, BBC Scotland (item 8) Wilf White Chief Adviser, Public Policy (item 8) Keith Little Chief Information Officer, FM&T (item 9) Gary Marven Programme Director, DMI (item 9) Jan Killick Head of Pensions (item 11) Peter Dunscombe Head of Pensions Investments (item 11)
Apologies: David Robbie Non-executive director
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Agenda
1. MINUTES FROM EXECUTIVE BOARD ON 13 NOVEMBER 2007 AND CONFERENCE CALLS HELD ON 16 AND 20 NOVEMBER 2007
2. DIRECTOR REPORTS a) Audiences and all services b) Journalism and Editorial matters c) Regulatory and industry d) Commercial e) Finance - Quarterly risk report
3. BBC CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS: THE WAY FORWARD
4. TALENT AT THE BBC
5. DIGITAL SWITCHOVER a) HD on DTT b) DSO Annual Report c) DSO quarterly update
6. bbc.co.uk SERVICE REVIEW
7. APPOINTMENTS a) Non-executive director b) Children in Need c) Appeals Advisory Committee
8. GAELIC PUBLIC VALUE TEST (PVT)
9. DIGITAL MEDIA INTIATIVE
10. TRAINING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES REPORT
11. PENSION SCHEME ACTUARIAL VALUATION
FOR NOTING:
12. MANAGEMENT RESPONSE TO OFCOM’S DISCUSSION OF CHILDREN’S TELEVISION
13. LEARNING LESSONS FROM THE BUSINESS CONTINUITY REHEARSAL
14. LEARNING UPDATE
15. MINUTES FROM FINANCE COMMITTEE HELD ON 4 OCTOBER AND 5 NOVEMBER 2007
OFFLINE BUSINESS CONSIDERED SINCE THE NOVEMBER EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING This section of the minutes provides a record of business which has been considered offline by the Executive Board since their previous meeting. 2
1. MINUTES FROM EXECUTIVE BOARD ON 13 NOVEMBER 2007 AND CONFERENCE CALLS HELD ON 16 AND 20 NOVEMBER 2007
1.1 The minutes were approved with no amendments and the summary for publication noted.
2. DIRECTOR REPORTS a) Audiences and all services
2.1 Jenny Abramsky provided a short update on audience figures and services for the last month, noting key highlights for Audio & Music, New Media and Vision. b) Journalism and Editorial matters
2.2 Mark Byford provided an update on journalism and editorial matters.
c) Regulatory and industry
2.3 Caroline Thomson provided an update on regulatory and industry matters.
d) Commercial
2.4 John Smith provided an update on commercial activities: e) Quarterly risk report
2.5 Zarin Patel introduced the quarterly risk report explaining that the Annual Risk Baseline paper formed an important part of the BBC’s overall risk management processes, providing a comprehensive summary for the Board. The paper was updated on a quarterly basis during the year, with details of any emerging risks or changes in the level of exposure since the previous quarter. The paper detailed emerging risks or changes in the level of exposure up to the end of October 2007 and key performance indicators, summarising divisional performance.
2.6 The Board noted that the BBC Direction Group (BDG) had discussed the report on 4 December 2007 and agreed a number of specific issues/actions.
2.7 The Board discussed the report, noted the risks reported, endorsed the actions agreed by the BDG and agreed that the report could be submitted to the Trust Finance and Strategy Committee in January 2008.
3. BBC CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS: THE WAY FORWARD
3.1 Tim Davie introduced this paper, which provided an initial framework to guide the BBC’s external communications strategy and plans over the next three to five years. Tim explained that the paper would be followed up by a detailed plan reflecting comments from the Executive Board. The intention was to fully develop the communications strategy and plan for agreement in the first quarter of 2008 but it was noted that some of the strategies and ideas in the paper
3 could be implemented immediately and were not dependent on agreement to a longer-term plan.
3.2 The Board provided input into the overall direction set out in the paper and agreed to the next steps, noting that the communications strategy would return to the Board in February 2008.
4. TALENT AT THE BBC
4.1 Jana Bennett introduced the presentation noting that it set out the BBC’s strategic approach to talent
4.2 The paper had been prepared in advance of the BBC Trust commissioning a Value for Money (VFM) study on talent costs. It had been originally circulated for the November Executive Board meeting but had returned because of insufficient time to be considered at that meeting.
4.3 The Board supported the approach outlined in the paper.
5. DIGITAL SWITCHOVER a) High Definition (HD) on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT)
5.1 Caroline Thomson introduced this paper, which provided an update on the plan to offer Public Service Broadcasting services in HD on DTT, a comparison with Ofcom’s proposal and analysed the way forward. It set out the very tight timetable and explained why it was essential to obtain the necessary approvals as early as possible, and in any case before early March when Ofcom was expected to make their decision.
5.2 The Board agreed to hold a teleconference the following week to approve a non-service application to the Trust, prior to Ofcom plans being announced. b) DSO Annual Report c) DSO quarterly update
5.3 Caroline Thomson introduced these two papers, which were considered together. The quarterly update summarised the latest developments for the digital switchover programme. The Annual Report had been compiled in line with Clause 41 of the BBC Agreement which required the BBC Trust to provide the Secretary of State with an annual report on what the BBC had done for the purpose of meeting its obligations for delivering digital switchover. The Board noted that the Annual Report for 2007 was the first such report to be prepared.
5.4 Both reports were noted and approved for progression to the Trust.
6. bbc.co.uk SERVICE REVIEW
6.1 Ashley Highfield introduced this paper, which updated the Executive Board on the Trust’s Service Review of bbc.co.uk, and progress in preparing management’s submission. It noted that all parts of the BBC had been involved in the preparation of the submission and supporting documents, and all output Directors consulted.
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6.2 The Board noted the content of the submission and authorised Ashley Highfield to sign off the final version in time to meet the Trust Unit deadline of 14 December 2007.
7. APPOINTMENTS a) Non-executive director
7.1 The Board ratified the appointment of Val Gooding for two years with effect from 1 January 2008, subject to Trust approval being received on 13 December 2007.
7.2 The Board asked if the announcement about Val Gooding’s appointment could be issued by the end of that week subject to Trust approval. b) Children in Need
7.3 Tim Davie introduced this paper, reminding the Board that in March 2007 it had approved changes to the governance arrangements of BBC Children in Need (BBC CiN) which had now been implemented. One of the key aspects of the implementation of the changes had been that all existing CiN Trustees became Members of BBC CiN and that these members were split evenly between BBC related and non-BBC related CiN Trustees. The key outstanding issue was the need for the BBC to identify and approve a person to represent its membership of the BBC CiN Board. The purpose of the paper was to request that the BBC Executive Board formally approve the appointment of Nicholas Eldred to that position.
7.4 The Board approved the appointment of Nicholas Eldred as a member of the BBC CiN’s Board of Trustees. c) Appeals Advisory Committee (AAC)
7.5 The paper noted that in 2006, following the recommendation of the Unwin Report commissioned by the Board of Governors, the reporting lines for the AAC were transferred from the Board of Governors to BBC Management and specifically the Executive Board. Responsibility for the appointment of members of the AAC rested with the Executive Board and approval was sought for the appointment of one new AAC member, Dr. Daleep Mukarji, to replace international development expert Roger Yates, whose extended term of office had ended.
7.6 The Board approved the appointment of Dr. Mukarji as a member of the BBC’s independent Charitable Appeals Advisory Committee.
8. GAELIC PUBLIC VALUE TEST (PVT)
8.1 Caroline Thomson introduced this paper advising the Board that the BBC Executive’s application for a Gaelic Digital Service (GDS) was currently undergoing its second public consultation following the publication of the Trust’s provisional conclusions on the Public Value Test (PVT). This was scheduled to end on 19 December 2007 and the Trust was expected to take the decision to approve the service or not at its meeting in January 2008.
5 8.2 The paper provided a summary of the BBC’s response to the consultation - the full response was likely to be a substantial document and required further discussion with the Gaelic Media Service (GMS) in a number of areas before it could be finalised. The paper explained that the Trust had provisionally concluded that, although the proposed service would add public value, the evidence then presented in the PVT was “not sufficient to justify the level of investment proposed”. Accordingly, the Trust had therefore sought further evidence, particularly focused on how the service’s appeal could be maximised and the efficiency of its distribution.
8.3 The Board questioned whether the reach target of 250k was achievable and noted that the hope was that the service would also appeal to non-Gaelic speakers (particularly as subtitles would be included). The aim was also to appeal to a younger audience. The Board discussed the rationale for promoting Gaelic (above other languages more widely spoken in the UK) as an indigenous language and noted that the Gaelic Service would be the only broadcast provision for Gaelic in the world.
8.4 The Board noted the summary of the response and agreed to delegate authority to Caroline Thomson and Mark Thompson to approve the final submission.
9. DIGITAL MEDIA INTIATIVE
9.1 Ashley Highfield introduced this paper which informed the Board about the proposed approach on the Digital Media Initiative to: • The technology solution and partners; • The roll out and timelines; and • The financial costs and benefits.
9.2 The Board noted the paper and requested that the full business case return to the Board in January, including information about the real cost benefits and Siemens’ involvement.
10. TRAINING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES REPORT
10.1 Steve Kelly introduced this paper which explained that under section 85 of the Agreement, the Executive Board was required to submit (at least once a year) a report on the current operation and effectiveness of training and equal opportunities. The intention in future was that this would be presented to the Trust in May each year.
10.2 However, as a report had not yet been submitted to the Trust since the commencement of the Agreement (1 January 2007) an interim report was scheduled to be reviewed by the Executive Board in January 2008 and submitted for consideration by the Trust in the same month. Recent advice from Regulatory Legal had suggested, however, that although the period to which the ‘year’ refers was not defined in the Agreement, the logical view would be that it would start from the commencement date of the Agreement, i.e. 1 January 2007 and in this case the Executive Board would need to submit the report to the Trust before the end of the year.
10.2 The Board agreed that, to avoid a technical breach of the Agreement, the report could be submitted to the Executive Board and Trust Unit at the same time, before 31 December 2007. It was noted that the report would still remain on the January 2008
6 agendas of the Executive Board and Trust and any comments made by the Executive Board in January would be incorporated into an updated paper to the Trust
FOR NOTING:
12. MANAGEMENT RESPONSE TO OFCOM’S DISCUSSION OF CHILDREN’S TELEVISION
12.1 This paper responded to Ofcom’s discussion paper on ‘The Future of Children’s Television Programming’, responses to which were due by 20 December 2007. The paper explained that the BBC had the opportunity to make a positive statement about its commitment to children’s programming without the need for increased regulation. The response could also set out the strength of the BBC’s offering in terms of plurality, in-house production, and UK originations.
12.2 The paper noted that the Trust’s thinking was broadly in line with management’s and it was likely to respond to Ofcom with a broadly supportive response alongside the BBC’s submission.
12.3 The Board noted the draft response to Ofcom’s report and that the Trust would be submitting a short supplementary note in support.
13. LEARNING LESSONS FROM THE BUSINESS CONTINUITY REHEARSAL
13.1 This paper summarised the lessons learnt and the actions arising from the Executive’s “Gold” Incident Response rehearsal held on 31 October 2007.
13.2 The Board noted the paper and that the BBC Direction Group, who had considered it the week before, had accepted the recommendations, thereby allowing Business Continuity to progress the actions identified.
14. LEARNING UPDATE
14.1 This paper reminded the Board that in October, the Trust had considered the Learning Strategy approved by the Executive Board in September (EB(07) 128). The Trust had requested more of the detail contained in the Executive Board paper and this was now being provided. Approval was being sought from the Trust for the overall strategic direction being planned, and for management continuing to explore opportunities to dispose of Jam content (also considered by the Executive Board in September). The paper also provided a short update.
14.2 The Board noted the intention to bring a further paper to the Executive Board and Trust in January 2008.
7 15. MINUTES FROM FINANCE COMMITTEE HELD ON 4 OCTOBER AND 5 NOVEMBER 2007
15.1 This paper reminded the Board that the Finance Committee (FC) was established under the delegated authority of the BBC Executive Board and that the purpose of the FC was to ensure the practice of good financial governance across the BBC and the enforcement of the BBC’s Investment Policy and Guidelines.
15.2 In line with the standing orders of the FC this paper provided the Executive Board with summary minutes of recent FC meetings, covering details of all business covered and key actions and outcomes agreed.
15.3 The Board noted the summary minutes and actions.
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