The Trust is announcing today that it has commissioned a longer-term policy review of how and when the BBC uses premium rate phone [...]]]> The BBC Trust received the Director-Generals report on the BBCs use of premium rate telephony and associated issues at its meeting on 23 May 2007 and is publishing it today.

The Trust is announcing today that it has commissioned a longer-term policy review of how and when the BBC uses premium rate phone lines and associated programme interactivity.

On behalf of the BBC Trust, Chairman Sir Michael Lyons has issued the following statement:

“The public expectations of the BBC are rightly always high and it is the role of the BBC Trust to put in place guidelines which reflect them. When the BBC falls short of those expectations and breaches occur, as happened on editions of Blue Peter and Saturday Kitchen, it is not surprising that licence fee payers feel let down and disappointed.

“The errors which occurred around the Blue Peter programme on 27 November last year were particularly serious as they resulted in children being misled to participate in a competition they had no chance of winning and in a child in the studio being involved in deceiving the audience. These grave mistakes were compounded by serious errors of judgement in not referring the matter to senior management.

“The case of Saturday Kitchen has also revealed flaws which, in the view of the Trust, resulted in viewers being misled into believing that they were calling a live programme.

“We are pleased that, as soon as these errors came to light, management moved swiftly to address the problems that had arisen. Mark Thompsons clear and frank report, which we are publishing today, demonstrates a thorough review is underway and that there is a clear commitment to learning from these breaches. Overall, we welcome the actions taken to date but, in our discussions with BBC management, the Trust has highlighted some issues of particular importance.

“First, the Trust looks to the Director-General and other senior leaders to ensure clear understanding among all programme makers of their responsibilities to licence fee payers. The culture of the BBC must be such that any proposal to mislead audiences is instantly dismissed as wholly inappropriate. This requires a commitment to raising awareness and understanding of the Editorial Guidelines in all areas, particularly in non-News departments.

“Second, the BBC is different from other broadcasters in that it is funded by the licence fee and does not seek to make additional revenue from premium rate phone lines and in some cases uses premium services to minimise call charges to the public. BBC management has already carried out a review of the BBCs premium phone line operations and compliance with the BBCs policies and guidelines. In line with good audit practice, the Trust has agreed with the Director-General that he now commission an external auditor to carry out sample checks of some programmes in the report and provide the external auditors findings to the Trust as soon as possible.

“It is clear from the volume of calls that the public enjoys the opportunity to interact directly with BBC programmes. However, we know from points raised at public meetings and during radio phone-ins, that some members of the public question the cost of participation or would like more information about how the money raised is used by the BBC.

“The BBCs interactivity with audiences is not a commercial imperative but part of the BBCs public service and is one way in which the BBC is distinctive from commercial broadcasters. Not only must its policies be clearly different therefore, but the BBC must seek to ensure the public recognises the distinction of the BBCs interactive services.

“The Trusts own action arising from recent events is to carry out a longer-term policy review of how and when the BBC uses premium rate phone lines and associated programme interactivity. Formal terms of reference will be decided by the Trusts Editorial Standards Committee at its next meeting in June and will be published.

“This policy review will be led by Ronald Neil, the BBCs former Director of News and Current Affairs and author of the Neil Report. We expect to receive the reviews recommendations in the autumn. We will draw on those, together with the findings and reports from Ofcom and Icstis as they relate to the BBC, and work emerging from the BBC managements working party on the use of premium rate telephony, before we publish the Trusts conclusions.

“The BBC Trust represents the public interest, safeguarding the BBC for the people who pay for it and own it.

“One of the Trusts duties is to ensure the BBC maintains the highest editorial standards and delivers top quality programmes. This means ensuring that programmes meet public expectations of information, education and entertainment. And that the BBC remains independent, impartial and honest.

“It is the responsibility of everyone at the BBC not to lose sight of these important principles for the BBC to be deserving of the public’s trust which it rightly values very highly.”

A copy of the BBC report can also be downloaded by clicking here.