British Broadcasting Corporation Room BC2 B6 Broadcast Centre White City Wood Lane London W12 7TP
Telephone 020 8008 2882 Email xxx@xxx.xx.xx
Information Policy & Compliance
bbc.co.uk/foi
bbc.co.uk/privacy
21 March 2013
Freedom of Information Act 2000 – RFI20130292
Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act (‘the Act’) of 17 February,
seeking:
“Please can you provide me with location details (addresses where possible) of all of the filming
locations for the two series of the BBC TV programmes “Shoestring” (1979 starring Trevor Eve),
from the information held at the BBC Written Archives Centre”
The information you have requested is excluded from the Act because it is held for the purposes
of ‘journalism, art or literature’. 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 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
However, on this occasion we are happy to explain that only one of the production files for these
series has been retained for the archives. This file relates to the second episode of the first series,
entitled Knock for Knock, and does contain some information about the filming locations used for
this episode. We are happy to make this file available to you for research, and we think it would
be best if you were able to visit and view the file in person at the BBC Written Archives Centre.
We have checked some of the scripts and Programme as Broadcast documents for other episodes
and found that the location information given on these documents is very general, i.e. filming on
location in London and Bristol and in Television Film Studios, Ealing. If this kind of information is
of interest then we can also make the scripts and Programmes as Broadcast documents available
to you during a research visit.
If you would like to make an appointment to view this material, please get in touch with my
colleague Jessica Hogg on 0118 948 6281, or via email to
xxxxxxxx@xxx.xx.xx or by post to the
1 For more information about how the Act applies to the BBC please see the enclosure which follows this letter.
Please note that this guidance is not intended to be a comprehensive legal interpretation of how the Act applies to the
BBC.
BBC Written Archives Centre, Caversham Park, Reading, RG4 8TZ and she will make the
necessary arrangements for you.
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. 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,
James Codd
Senior Media Manager, BBC Written Archives Centre
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,
S4C and MG Alba are the only broadcasting organisations 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
Audience Services 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 Audience Services.
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
one of Europe's most widely visited content sites. Around the world, international multimedia
broadcaster BBC World Service delivers a wide range of language and regional services on radio, TV,
online and via wireless handheld devices, together with BBC World News, the commercially-funded
international news and information television channel.
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 (the sovereign body within the BBC) 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 to its audiences and to Parliament.
Day-to-day operations are run by the Director-General and his senior management team, the
Executive Board. All BBC output in the UK is funded by an annual Licence Fee. This is determined and
regularly reviewed by Parliament. Each year, the BBC publishes an Annual Report & Accounts, and
reports to Parliament on how it has delivered against its public service remit.