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 consider 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 it will report on its progress.
The Government welcome that the BBC has 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 the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority 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 believe 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 are prepared to challenge the sector if this is not forthcoming.
The Government now look 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.
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