British Broadcasting Corporation Room BC2 B6 Broadcast Centre White City Wood Lane London W12 7TP
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Information Policy & Compliance
bbc.co.uk/foi
bbc.co.uk/privacy
03 April 2013
Freedom of Information Request - RFI20130337
Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) received on 28th
February, seeking the following information:
I would like to know the total number of staff employed on continuing or fixed term contract at 31st
December 2012, whose ethnic origin was known to the Corporation i.e. staff whose ethnic origin had
been declared as belonging to one of the groups below, data which is collected under the Charter
Requirement.
1. Ethnic Majority staff (which includes White British/English/ Scottish/Welsh)
2. Black and Minority Ethnic staff (Black, Mixed, Asian, Chinese, Middle/Near Eastern)
3. Other White Backgrounds (which includes Irish, Central & Eastern European, Gypsy/Traveller & white
staff from other backgrounds).
I would also like the figure for the total number of staff employed on continuing or fixed term contract at
31st December 2011 and 31st December 2010 whose ethnic origin was known to the Corporation.
As you know from previous requests, the BBC has been collecting data relating to the ethnicity of its
staff as an annual reporting requirement under the BBC Charter and Agreement for a number of
years. In 2010 we updated our ethnicity classifications informed by guidance from the Equality and
Human Rights Commission and in line with the UK census. Since that time we have been using more
detailed classifications under three broad headings:
1. Ethnic Majority staff (which includes White British/English/ Scottish/Welsh)
2. Black and Minority Ethnic staff (Black, Mixed, Asian, Chinese, Middle/Near Eastern)
3. Other White Backgrounds (which includes Irish, Central & Eastern European, Gypsy/Traveller &
white staff from other backgrounds).
You can read more about the BBC’s duty to promote equality in employment on the BBC Trust’s
website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/governance/tools_we_use/diversity_equality/equality_employment.html
It is not mandatory for staff to inform the BBC of their diversity information. Therefore the figures in
the responses below only relate to records where the information is known.
The table below shows the ethnic origin of BBC staff (where known) in each of the last 3 years on
31st December.
31/12/2012
31/12/2011
31/12/2010
Ethnicity Majority
15156
15510
17349
Black & Minority Ethnic
2214
2253
2437
Other White Background
1006
982
134
Total
18376
18745
19920
As our subsidiaries (BBC Studios & Post Production Ltd, UKTV, BBC World News Ltd, BBC
Worldwide Ltd, World Service Trust and BBC Children in Need) are not subject to the Act – under
section 6(1) (b)(ii) – the information for their personnel is not included in the figures quoted above.
I hope this response satisfies your request.
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied that we have complied with the Act in responding to your request, you have
the right to an internal review by a BBC senior manager or legal adviser. Please contact us at the
address above, explaining what you would like us to review and including your reference number. If
you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can 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 http://www.ico.gov.uk/ Yours sincerely
Karen Wood
BBC People