BBC publishes separate complaints reports

For the first time the BBC has published separately the findings of its Programme Complaints Unit (PCU) and Governors' Programme Complaints Committee (PCC).
This is because the PCU investigates complaints on behalf of management and reports to the Director-General while the Governors take appeals from complainants who are not happy with the response they have received from management to a serious programme complaint. The move reflects changes to BBC governance arrangements announced in February this year.
To strengthen its independence the PCC has appointed Ronald Neil CBE as its first Editorial Advisor. Ronald, who will begin attending Committee meetings in May, will be responsible for providing independent editorial advice to the PCC. As Editorial Advisor he will inform the PCC about the concerns raised by the complainant, and the range of editorial issues relating to the complaint.
In a foreword to the PCU bulletin (January to March 2002) BBC Director-General Greg Dyke said: "There weren't any individual programmes in the January - March quarter which caused large numbers of complaints to the PCU, but there was a bit more traffic than usual in the "other bias" category - nearly 20% of the complaints this quarter compared with 14% over the year as a whole. That's the category covering bias about issues which aren't party political, and the issue that accounts for the increase this time is Israel and the Palestinians."
Nevertheless the Unit found no bias in any of the cases investigated in this quarter and Greg Dyke says: "I think that's a fair reflection of our coverage."
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