Culture secretary criticised over BBC charter comments

Culture secretary Tessa Jowell has received a barrage of criticism from opposition MPs and industry leaders after she appeared to prejudge the government's review of the BBC licence fee review, saying that any change would be "somewhere between the improbable and the impossible".
Ms Jowell made her remarks in an interview with the Financial Times where she was drawn on the subject of the review which is due to take place between 2004 and 2006. Ms Jowell's statement that the current procedure would survive the 2006 charter was seized upon as evidence that the process was a rubber-stamping exercise.
Shadow culture secretary Tim Yeo said: "In the 10 years since the last charter renewal, the whole television and broadcasting sector has changed radically. To simply dismiss the alternative possibilities not only shows a closed mind but may also work against the interests of viewers and broadcasters."
Mr Yeo added that the licence fee is a "television tax" which people must pay even if they never choose to watch BBC programming. Whilst, the Tory spokesman was not directly opposed to the licence fee, he said that top-up subscriptions may be a viable alternative.
The licence fee structure has been fiercely opposed by independent producers who claim that the corporation are using public money to fund private commercial enterprises – which, they claim, gives the BBC an unfair advantage in the marketplace.
Advocates of the BBC have said that the licence fee allows the corporation independence from commercial interests, thereby ensuring the creation of quality niche and minority programming.
Should Labour be returned to government, which could occur during the charter review, it seems likely the BBC will continue to receive public funding until the next review in 2016.
The disposal of licence fee money by the BBC has also been picked up by educational publishers who say that the beeb's plans to offer "free" digital material online could cost them up to £400 million over the next five years.
The BBC had approached government for permission to spend £150 million of licence cash on the new service which, according to the Digital Learning Alliance, would "shrink the commercial sector to the tune of £400 million over five years".
The BBC have rejected this saying that at least half of the money invested would be made available for private publishers.
The BBC currently raises about £2.2 billion from the licence fee which stands at £109.
BBC, www.bbc.co.uk
(GMcG)