Reference: 655281
Jerin John Information Rights Adviser Information.requests@ofcom.org.uk
4 February 2019
Freedom of Information: Right to know request Thank you for your request for broadcast complaints about coverage of social housing tenants. This was received by Ofcom on 7 January and it has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”).
You asked for:
Complaints received from viewers regarding unfair coverage of social housing tenants. Particular biases include anti-social behaviour, violence, drugs, alcohol abuse etc... In particular looking to find out about channel 4’s benefit street or a wider approach of data.
Before responding to your question, I would like to provide some background information on Ofcom’s complaints procedures and reporting.
Complaints about content standards are handled under Ofcom’s Procedures for investigating breaches of content standards for television and radio1. Individual complaints received by Ofcom are assigned to cases. A case is opened when Ofcom is assessing a specific programme or issue and may consist of one or more complaints. We assess every complaint we receive, and we consider whether there may have been a breach of the Broadcasting Code. Where we consider there may have been a breach, we will launch an investigation.
Our Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin, published every fortnight on our website, includes decisions about the complaints we have considered. The Bulletins can be accessed here.
Turning to your request, we only hold searchable information on our complaints database for cases from 2014 onwards. We log complaints on our complaints database in categories which reference the rules in the Code. Accordingly, we do not have a category for “social housing tenants” or “anti- social behaviour”, although complaints about violence would usually be logged under the category “violence”.
As such, we do not hold information in the format you requested. However, to be helpful, we can provide information on an individual programme - Channel 4’s Benefit Street. We have searched all
1 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/information-for-industry/guidance/procedures
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television broadcast standards complaints from 1 January 2014 to 7 January 2019 about this particular programme.
In that period, Ofcom received 20 complaints in total about this programme, of which 1 was logged under the category “violence”.
As to your request for a wider approach of data, after searching for a full list of programmes with “Benefits” in the title from 1 January 2014 to 7 January 2019 we believe the following programmes may fall within scope. We received 232 complaints about these various programmes which were logged against categories such as “drugs”, “smoking”, “solvents” or “alcohol” and “offensive language”. Only one case was logged under the category “violence” (Benefits: 19 Kids and Counting the Cost, Channel 5).
If any of the programmes listed below individually attracted more than 10 complaints, they will be featured in our weekly Audience Complaints bulletin which can be accessed here.
Programme Service
12 Years Old and on Benefits Channel 5
Benefits and Bypasses: Billion Pound Patients Channel 5
Benefits Britain Channel 5
Benefits Britain: Big Families Special Channel 5
Benefits Britain: Life on the Dole Channel 5
Benefits Britain: Me and My 14 Kids Channel 5
Benefits by the Sea - Jaywick Channel 5
Benefits House: Me and My 26 Kids 5Star
Benefits Life: Jailbird Boys Going Straight Channel 5
Benefits Special: 18 Kids and Claiming Channel 5
Benefits Street Channel 4
Benefits, Babies and Jail Channel 5
Benefits: 19 Kids and Counting the Cost Channel 5
Benefits: 37 Years on the Dole Channel 5
Benefits: Britain's Most Shameless Mum Channel 5
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Benefits: Can't Work, Won't Work Channel 5
Benefits: Too Fat to Work Channel 5
Britain's Benefits Tenants Channel 4
Celebs on Benefits: Fame to Claim Channel 5
Don't Cap My Benefits BBC 1
Gypsies on Benefits and Proud Channel 5
Hungry, Homeless and on Benefits: Tonight ITV
My Big Benefits Family Channel 5
My Big Fat Benefits Wedding Live Channel 5
On Benefits Channel 5
On Benefits: 26 Kids and Claiming Channel 5
On Benefits: and a Baby on the Way Channel 5
On Benefits: Bargain Barbie and Desperate Dole Claimants 5Star
On Benefits: Breadline Scousers Channel 5
On Benefits: Cashing in for Christmas Channel 5
On Benefits: Got Talent? Channel 5
On Benefits: Life on the Dole Channel 5
On Benefits: The Compensation King Channel 5
The Great British Benefits Handout Channel 5
Undercover: Benefits Cheat Channel 5
However, we cannot disclose the details of the complaints as this is exempt under section 44 of the Act. Under this section, information which we hold about a television programme or broadcaster is exempt from disclosure since it was shared with us under our regulatory powers and disclosure is prohibited under section 393(1) of the Communications Act 2003. Section 44 is an absolute exemption under the Act and does not require a public interest test.
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If you have any queries, please contact [email protected]. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely,
Jerin John
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If you are unhappy with the response or level of service you have received in relation to your request from Ofcom, you may ask for an internal review. If you ask us for an internal review of our decision, it will be treated as a formal complaint and will be subject to an independent review within Ofcom. We will acknowledge the complaint and inform you of the date by which you might expect to be told the outcome. The following outcomes are possible: • the original decision is upheld; or • the original decision is reversed or modified.
Timing If you wish to exercise your right to an internal review you should contact us within two months of the date of this letter. There is no statutory deadline for undertaking internal reviews and it will depend upon the complexity of the case. However, we aim to conclude all such reviews within 20 working days, and up to 40 working days in exceptional cases. We will keep you informed of the progress of any such review. If you wish to request an internal review, you should contact:
Corporation Secretary Ofcom Riverside House 2a Southwark Bridge Road London SE1 9HA
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF
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