Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (): On Monday the BBC published
the outcome of the independent review it commissioned from Change
Associates into workplace culture. The review concluded that the
BBC does not have a toxic culture. While the review observed that
the majority of people working at the BBC enjoy their work and
uphold its values, it also said there are still examples of
workplace misconduct by a minority, with damaging impacts for the
whole BBC. Despite progress having been made in recent years,
there remain significant challenges in relation to workplace
misconduct that the BBC must address in order to build the trust
of those working for the BBC, and the wider public.
The success of the BBC and the wider creative industries depends
on the people that work in them - those who drive and shape all
of its content and the services it delivers. Safety for all those
working in the creative industries, as in any workplace, is of
the utmost importance, and this Government considers it a moral
imperative for employers to get this right.
BBC staff and the public rightly deserve the highest standards
from their national broadcaster. As the report shows, there have
been too many examples of a culture of silence in the BBC, with
staff feeling unable to raise concerns or reporting that
complaints are not dealt with quickly, effectively, or with the
necessary transparency and communication about the process. This
cannot continue.
Last Friday, I met with the BBC Director General to discuss the
findings of the review and stressed the importance of the BBC
leadership taking action to address the findings at pace. The
Director General agreed. As the report also highlights, in order
for staff and the public to have confidence in the BBC,
transparency on BBC processes and progress is critical. I have
also asked the BBC to share further information on how they will
report on their progress.
The Government welcomes that the BBC have publicly accepted the
findings and recommendations of the report in full and has set
out an action plan to address them with both immediate steps and
further measures aimed at driving the long-term change that is
clearly needed. Given its central role in the sector, this is now
an opportunity for the BBC to show clear leadership and
accountability in this area by learning from the findings, acting
at pace across the Corporation and working to drive change more
broadly throughout the creative industries.
Of course workplace misconduct is not confined to the BBC; it is
unfortunately an issue that is too prevalent across the sector,
and due to the complexity of the creative labour market is not
something the BBC can tackle alone. I recently met with Creative
Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) to discuss how
the Government and industry can work together to improve
workplace standards and behaviour in the creative industries.
CIISA was established by the industry to create consistently safe
and inclusive workplaces, and the Government believes that this
is the best vehicle to address these issues. In order for CIISA
to succeed, it needs proper buy-in, support and championing from
across the sector. The Government is prepared to challenge the
sector if this is not forthcoming.
The Government now looks to the BBC to act on the recommendations
of the workplace culture review in a focused, timely and
transparent way. Together with and on behalf of licence fee
payers and the wider public, the Government will closely monitor
the BBC's progress. We will also continue to work closely with
CIISA and other relevant government departments to explore how
best to ensure that the issues we have seen are not allowed to be
repeated in future.
