Mr M Walker
By email: [email address]
7th April 2010
Dear Mr Walker,
Freedom of Information request – RFI20100374 Thank you for your request to the BBC of 11th March, seeking the following information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act):
1. Kindly denote the dates on which any representative from UKIP, Respect and The
Greens have appeared on each of Question Time and Any Questions in each year
since June 1999.
2. Kindly supply the minutes that appertained to the decisions to feature Respect,
UKIP and the Green Party representatives at both the BBC and also such
independent companies whose input is required in the production of these
programmes.
3. Kindly advise at what meetings of both the BBC and any independent companies
(and supply the dates thereof) there occurred any discussion of the criteria to feature
representatives from each of the Green Party, Respect, UKIP and the BNP and kindly
supply the minutes appertaining thereto in each of the years since 1999.
The information you have requested is excluded from the Act because it is held for the purposes
of ‘journalism, art or literature.’ The BBC is therefore not obliged to provide this information to
you and will not be doing so on this occasion. Part VI of Schedule 1 to FOIA provides that
information held by the BBC and the other public service broadcasters is only covered by the Act
if it is held for ‘purposes
other than those of journalism, art or literature”. The BBC is not
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required to supply information held for the purposes of creating the BBC’s output or information
that supports and is closely associated with these creative activities.
1
You may not be aware that one of the main policy drivers behind the limited application of the Act
to public service broadcasters was to protect freedom of expression and the rights of the media
under Article 10 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The BBC, as a media
organisation, is under a duty to impart information and ideas on all matters of public interest and
the importance of this function has been recognised by the European Court of Human Rights.
Maintaining our editorial independence is a crucial factor in enabling the media to fulfil this
function.
That said, the BBC makes a huge range of information available about our programmes and
content on bbc.co.uk. We also proactively publish information covered by the Act on our
publication scheme and regularly handle requests for information under the Act.
Appeal Rights
The BBC does not offer an internal review when the information requested is not covered by the
Act. If you disagree with our decision you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. Contact
details are:
Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
Website:
http://www.ico.gov.uk
Please note that should the Information Commissioner’s Office decide that the Act does cover
this information, exemptions under the Act might then apply.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Burns
Group Manager for Audio & Music
1 For more information about how the Act applies to the BBC please see the guidance at
www.bbc.co.uk/foi a copy of
which is enclosed. Please note that this guidance is not intended to be a comprehensive legal interpretation of how
the Act applies to the BBC.
Freedom of Information
From January 2005 the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 gives a general right of access
to all types of recorded information held by public authorities. The Act also sets out
exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. The term
“public authority” is defined in the Act; it includes all public bodies and government
departments in the UK. The BBC, Channel 4 and S4C are the only broadcasters covered by
the Act.
Application to the BBC
The BBC has a long tradition of making information available and accessible. It seeks to be
open and accountable and already provides the public with a great deal of information about
its activities. BBC Information operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week handling telephone
and written comments and queries, and the BBC’s website bbc.co.uk provides an extensive
online information resource.
It is important to bear this in mind when considering the Freedom of Information Act and
how it applies to the BBC. The Act does not apply to the BBC in the way it does to most
public authorities in one significant respect. It recognises the different position of the BBC (as
well as Channel 4 and S4C) by saying that it covers information “held for purposes other than
those of journalism, art or literature”. This means the Act does not apply to information held
for the purposes of creating the BBC’s output (TV, radio, online etc), or information that
supports and is closely associated with these creative activities.
A great deal of information within this category is currently available from the BBC and will
continue to be so. If this is the type of information you are looking for, you can check
whether it is available on the BBC’s website bbc.co.uk or contact BBC Information.
The Act does apply to all of the other information we hold about the management and
running of the BBC.
The BBC
The BBC's aim is to enrich people's lives with great programmes and services that inform,
educate and entertain. It broadcasts radio and television programmes on analogue and digital
services in the UK. It delivers interactive services across the web, television and mobile
devices. The BBC's online service is Europe's most widely visited content site. Across the
world, the BBC broadcasts radio programmes in 32 languages on the BBC World Service and
the 24 hour television service, BBC World News.
The BBC's remit as a public service broadcaster is defined in the BBC Charter and
Agreement. It is the responsibility of the BBC Trust to ensure that the organisation delivers
against this remit by setting key objectives, approving strategy and policy, and monitoring and
assessing performance. The Trustees also safeguard the BBC's independence and ensure the
Corporation is accountable
