Mr Stan Bowler
[FOI #12041 email]
June 15th, 2009
Dear Mr Bowler
Freedom of Information request – RFI20090723
Thank you for your request of May 15th under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 seeking
information about the salaries and expenses claimed by BBC News presenters for the years from
2007/2008 to date.
The BBC will not be providing you with the information you requested as we consider that it is
not covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”); further, even if the information
was covered by the Act, it would be exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) of the Act
because disclosure would breach the first Data Protection principle.
Scope of the Act
The BBC and the other public service broadcasters are covered by the Act only in respect of
information held for purposes “other than those of journalism, art or literature” (see Schedule I,
Part VI of the Act). This means that the BBC is not obliged to supply information held for the
purposes of creating output or which is closely associated with such creative activities. The BBC
considers that this includes information about the costs involved in creating its output, including
fees paid to talent and expenses incurred by them.1
1 For more information about how the Act applies to the BBC please see www.bbc.co.uk/foi Please note that this guidance is not
intended to be a comprehensive legal interpretation of how the Act applies to the BBC.
Recent decision of the Information Commissioner
The BBC notes the recent decision notice of the Information Commissioner (ref. FS50085710): in
that case the Commissioner considered that payments (including expenses) made to talent did fall
within the scope of the Act. However, the Commissioner decided that the information was
exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) of the Act as he felt that the payment information
constituted personal data and that its disclosure would breach the first data protection principle in
the Data Protection Act, being ‘fair and lawful processing’. The Commissioner considered that the
individuals in that case had a reasonable expectation that their personal data would not be
disclosed and it would therefore be unfair to do so.
The BBC’s approach to this case
The BBC does not agree with the Commissioner’s decision on the scope of the Act and reserves
its position on the matter; however, the BBC considers that in the event of a similar finding by the
Commissioner in this case, the information you have requested would also be exempt under the
Act under section 40(2) as the information constitutes personal data and disclosure would breach
the First Principle (fair and lawful processing). The payments made to these individuals do not
relate to the performance of a public function which involves spending public money or taking
influential policy decisions. The individuals involved would not expect the type of information
requested to be disclosed to third parties, and therefore to do so would be unfair.
Appeal Rights
The BBC does not offer an internal review when the information requested is not covered by the
Act. However, if you are not satisfied with our response, you do have the right to appeal to the
Information Commissioner. The contact details are: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe
House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 01625 545 700 or see
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk In the event of a finding by the Information Commissioner
that the Act does apply in this case, should you then wish, the BBC is prepared to undertake an
internal review of our decision on the application of section 40 (personal information) to the
information you have requested.
Yours sincerely
Stephanie Harris
Head of Accountability, BBC News
