§ The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Tessa Jowell)On 11 December 2003, I announced the first phase of BBC Charter review with the launch of a major public consultation. The consultation was supported by a programme of survey research, visits to different parts of the country to hear the views of people in the media industry and the public first hand, and a series of events for children and young people to hear what they had to say.
By the time the consultation closed on 31 March 2004 we had received over 5,000 written responses and there had been over 25,000 unique visitors to the charter review website. We published the responses on the internet as the consultation proceeded. The research fieldwork we commissioned was completed in June this year.
Today, I am publishing the results of this consultation and research. The report we are publishing "What You Said About the BBC" summarises the main points that were put to us. It does not capture every single one of the many hundreds of issues raised, which is why I am also publishing in full the reports of research and consultation on which "What You Said About the BBC" is based. These documents, together with the consultation responses I have already published, should be seen as a complementary package and taken together give a comprehensive picture of the views received.
"What You Said About the BBC" contains both praise and criticism. Most people indicated that they value the BBC and hold it in high esteem, but a significant minority disagreed. To those who like the BBC it was generally seen as the best broadcaster for news, documentaries and features about personal 21WS interests. But even to many supporters it is seen as being by no means perfect. Although satisfaction levels are high, most people want to see changes. However, there is a clear view that the BBC should continue to remain independent of Government, parliamentary and commercial pressures.
People believe the BBC should keep up with developments in new technology and should be a leading partner in new markets-this will be particularly relevant as we make the journey towards full switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting.
Contributors clearly felt that there was room for improvement in the way the BBC is governed and regulated, although there is more debate to be had about exactly what changes are needed.
On the question of how we should pay for the BBC, the licence fee was widely considered to be the best—or rather the "least worst"—method for the time being, although other options were put forward and questions were raised about how the licence fee is set, collected and distributed.
The findings contained in this report will feed directly into the review of the BBC's charter. As I have said on numerous occasions, the only certain outcome of charter review will be a strong BBC, independent of Government.
I have placed copies of "What You Said About the BBC" and the supporting research in the Libraries of both Houses. Further copies are available from the charter review website: http://www.bbccharterreview. org.uk.