麻豆社

The 麻豆社 Trust has today launched a public consultation after reviewing a set of proposals from 麻豆社 management for changes to the services the Corporation provides and the way it operates.

The proposals aim to set the course for the 麻豆社 to the end of its current Charter in 2016, based on a new programme of efficiencies and a clearer focus on the 麻豆社's editorial priorities.

Together, this will mean savings of around £670m a year by 2016/17. It will also mean a loss of around 2,000 jobs across the 麻豆社.

The proposals follow the licence fee settlement agreed with the Government in October 2010, which sees the licence fee frozen to 2017, and the 麻豆社 assuming new funding responsibilities, including for the World Service, S4C, 麻豆社 Monitoring and local TV and broadband.

They also follow a review last year of the future strategy for the 麻豆社, which culminated in Trust approval for four new strategic priorities for the corporation – distinctiveness, value for money, serving all audiences and openness and transparency. The proposals have been shaped by these priorities.

The new funding responsibilities require the 麻豆社 to make savings equivalent to at least 16 per cent of current licence fee income. The Director-General set an additional four per cent savings target for reinvestment back into programming areas to boost quality and distinctiveness. The £670m of new savings identified, together with £30m of savings generated by exceeding the targets for the 麻豆社's current efficiency programme, will result in total savings by 2016/17 of 20 per cent.

To achieve these savings, 麻豆社 management ran a nine-month consultation process with staff called 'Delivering Quality First' (DQF). The Trust worked with management to set the direction of this work, and the Executive's detailed proposals were formally presented to the Trust at the end of September.

Lord Patten, Chairman of the 麻豆社 Trust, said:

"The 麻豆社 is far from perfect, but it is a great institution and, at its best, a great broadcaster. We have a tough and challenging new licence fee settlement, but it should still be possible to run an outstanding broadcaster on £3.5bn a year.

"The Trust's view has been clear from the start of this process - the 麻豆社 must look to run itself as efficiently as possible before we consider cutting services. Over half of the savings announced today will come from changes to operations, but there will need to be some changes to services, and we now need to test 麻豆社 management's proposals for this. We agree with the direction that the Director-General has taken, but we want to hear what the public think, as it is ultimately their 麻豆社."

Mark Thompson, Director-General of the 麻豆社, said:

"This is a plan which puts quality and creativity first. It's a plan for a smaller 麻豆社, but a 麻豆社 which uses its resources more effectively and collaboratively to deliver a full range of services to the public. The plan meets the savings target we agreed in last year's licence-fee settlement, but also identifies nearly £150m per year to invest in new high quality output and in the platforms and services of the future.

"But it is a plan which also means stretching efficiencies and significant job losses. It's my judgement that this is the last time the 麻豆社 will be able to make this level of savings without a substantial loss of services or quality or both."

The proposals aim to make as many savings as possible through efficiencies in order to limit the impact on programmes and content, although it will not be possible to avoid altogether changes to the scope of services.

The proposals therefore cover two areas. First the planned programme of efficiencies which will encompass both the back office functions of the 麻豆社 and the content and programme-making areas and will account for around 11 per cent savings on the current licence fee income.

Second are the changes to the scope of what the 麻豆社 provides - to the structure, genres and investment in individual channels and services. This will make up six per cent of the stated 20 per cent savings.

A final three per cent will consist of additional funding from commercial operations, savings from tighter management of working capital across the 麻豆社 and a contribution from the existing Continuous Improvement (CI) programme.

The Trust is seeking the public's views on the second area – the changes which directly impact services and content. Below is more detail on both areas.

Efficiency savings

The 麻豆社 will build on its current efficiency programme – which has already seen savings of more than £1bn since 2008/9 – to release a further £400m of savings per year by 2016/17. The Trust has been assessing this work with the help of independent advisers and will continue to monitor progress. This will be achieved by:

• A more flexible workforce which reduces duplication of expertise;
• Streamlining the corporation's use of technology in workplace and production processes;
• Continuing to reduce senior management numbers under plans announced in July, and flattening the structure to ensure there are no more than five layers between the Director-General to the most junior member of staff;
• Modernisation of terms and conditions for 麻豆社 staff; and
• Increasing out-of-London production and reducing the 麻豆社's property estate.

Changes to services

In its public consultation, the Trust wants to seek the public's views on those proposals which relate directly to channels and services. In summary, these include:

The general approach taken:

• Prioritising and protecting the services and content that deliver the most value to audiences, looking at each individual service and its value within the portfolio, rather than cutting whole services or giving each service the same percentage savings target.

Changes to the 麻豆社's TV channels:

• Protecting 麻豆社 One and Two in peak time, albeit with small reductions in entertainment programming and acquisitions;
• Making 麻豆社 One the channel for all new general daytime programmes;
• Changing 麻豆社 Two's daytime schedule to feature international news and current affairs programmes at lunchtime. Other parts of the daytime schedule would be repeats of mainly factual programmes, including science, history, natural history and arts, as well as live sport;
• Re-focusing 麻豆社 Three and 麻豆社 Four to play supporting roles to the two bigger channels; and
• Replacing the HD channel with an HD version of 麻豆社 Two to broadcast alongside the existing 麻豆社 One HD channel.

Changes to the 麻豆社's radio stations:

• Protecting Radio 4 by keeping its underlying budget stable, excluding the impact of productivity savings;
• Greater sharing of news bulletins between Radio 2 and 6 Music, Radio 1 and 1Xtra, and Radio 3 and 4;
• Reducing the amount of original drama, live music and specially recorded concerts at lunchtime on Radio 3, and reviewing the 麻豆社's orchestras and singers;
• Reinvestment in the Proms to maintain quality;
• Focusing Radio 5 Live on core output of news and sport;
• A new more focused Asian Network with a 34 per cent reduction in its content spend; and
• Making savings in radio distribution costs through long term changes to Medium Wave and Long Wave.

Changes to programming and services in the nations and regions:

• For TV, protecting underlying investment in news programming; producing fewer non-news programmes and rebroadcasting more of them to UK audiences; and increasing investment in network programming produced across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales;
• For nations radio, reducing investment in non-news programming and focusing on peak-time; and
• For English local radio, focusing spend on peak-time programmes, but with increased sharing across regions in off-peak slots.

Changes in approach to digital access and distribution

• Continuing with previously announced plans to reduce 麻豆社 Online's budget by 25 per cent, but with some reinvestment in future digital development; and
• Reducing Red Button transmissions making the service consistent across all digital TV platforms.

In parallel, the Trust is today launching the last two service reviews in its current round – for English local radio and the Asian Network. The Trust is obliged to review the performance of all 麻豆社 services against their licences twice during the current Charter period – in practice every five years.

These consultations will run until 21 December 2011. While some of the areas covered in the DQF proposals and these two service reviews are the same, the reviews will look at the retrospective performance of the services and the DQF proposals will look at the future direction. However, where appropriate, responses to either consultation which cover the same areas will feed into both.

Ends.

Notes to editors

Savings breakdown in 2016/17

The DQF process

The proposals follow an extensive review of the options with staff across the organisation over the past eight months. They are based around the four overall strategic priorities for the 麻豆社, set out by the Trust at the end of 2010 as part of the 'Putting Quality First' process, which are:

• Increasing the distinctiveness and quality of its programmes and services;
• Improving the value for money it provides to licence fee payers;
• Setting new standards of openness and transparency; and
• Doing more to serve all audiences.

The Executive's final proposals were presented to the Trust in late September, and are based around the 麻豆社's editorial priorities:

• Delivering the best journalism in the world;
• Providing inspiring knowledge, music and culture;
• Committing to ambitious UK drama and comedy;
• Making outstanding children's content; and
• Broadcasting events which bring communities and the nation together.

The licence fee settlement

The 麻豆社's licence fee settlement was agreed with the Government on 21 October 2010. This happened in parallel with the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review. It set out that the fee for a colour television licence will remain at £145.50 until the end of 2016/17, and that the 麻豆社 will assume certain additional responsibilities for funding activities from the licence fee. These are assistance to local media companies, the provision of the 麻豆社 World Service and 麻豆社 Monitoring services, support for broadband roll-out consistent with the 麻豆社's public purposes, and a new partnership and funding model with S4C according to the terms agreed.

Documents published today include:

• The Executive's DQF proposals

• Delivering Quality First, PDF (336KB)

• The Trust's consultation on the parts of the DQF proposals which relate to services