Chairman of the BBC Trust calls for a 're-think' of several proposals under the BBC's Delivering Quality First strategy, including a 'scaling back' of planned cuts to local radio
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The chairman of the BBC Trust has called on the broadcaster to "re-think" some of the proposals put forward as part of its Delivering Quality First (DQF) programme, including cuts to local radio and the "merging" of regional current affairs programming.
Under DQF proposals announced in October last year, around 2,000 jobs would be cut as part of the broadcasters attempt to make savings of around £670 million a year by 2016/17, following the licence fee agreement of 2010.
In a speech to the Oxford Media Convention , published in full on the BBC Trust website , Lord Chris Patten said the Trust's "initial conclusions" following a public consultation is that "the BBC management's approach is correct and we agree they should proceed with the great majority of the changes they proposed".
But he added that there are "real concerns" that in their current form the plans "would have a disproportionate impact on its local and regional output" and its journalism.
"While the BBC needs to reduce costs in these areas just as it does everywhere else, we agree that local and regional services in England provide something unique for audiences that can otherwise be neglected by the mainstream media.
"The BBC cannot afford to get these changes wrong. So we have asked the management to look again at the planned cuts to local radio".
In particular, he called on plans for sharing of content with "neighbours" should be scaled back, for there to be "adequately staffed" newsrooms "and for greater "freedom" when it comes to "specialist" content.
"We have also asked for a re-think of the plans for merging regional current affairs programmes in England into 'super-regions'. We want to see a plan that will preserve the regional integrity and investigative quality of this programming, which no other broadcaster provides."
As a result the BBC has been asked to submit new proposals to the Trust, he added, which will cost of a maximum of £10 million.
He said the Trust's final conclusions on the DQF strategy is due "in the Spring".
