Harman announces that Labour would “re-examine” the BBC licence fee

Shadow Deputy Prime Minister and Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Harriet Harman has revealed that under Labour the current funding structure of the BBC, including the licence fee, would be up for examination.

Speaking to Total Politics, Harman said the BBC charter review, due to take place in 2016, would give an “opportunity to re-examine” how we pay for the BBC. She explained:

“The licence fee is a means to an end, it’s not an end to itself. If there’s a better way to have…a measure of independence from government in terms of the finance, if there a better way of doing that, let’s hear about it. We haven’t found it in the past; we might do in the future. Let’s see. It’s not easy to see what would be better than the licence fee but that doesn’t mean it actually shouldn’t be looked at.”

The MP for Camberwell and Peckham also posed a number of questions she’d ask if she was reviewing the way the governing body of the BBC – known as the BBC Trust – works:

“What is the framework of the trust? How are the people appointed? Should there be a trust? What is the division between the regulatory functions of the trust and the executive functions of the board? All of these things really ought to be looked at in the proper process of charter review, not plucked out.”

But, Harman explained, any changes that would take place, would only come about in the “context of very strong support”.

She added that despite potential shake-ups in funding and governing structures, top on her priority list is protecting the BBC as a “public sector broadcaster.”

So while Labour would challenge the way the BBC works – which would surely be welcome given mismanagement revelations in recent years – we can rest assured that under a Labour government the broadcaster’s integrity as a public body will go untouched.