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British Broadcasting Corporation Room BC2 A4 Broadcast Centre White City Wood Lane London W12 7TP
Telephone 020 8008 2882 Email xxx@xxx.xx.xx
Information Rights
bbc.co.uk/foi
bbc.co.uk/privacy
Ed Howe
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
21 November 2019
Dear Mr Howe,
Freedom of Information request – RFI20191812
Thank you for your request to the BBC of 13 November 2019 seeking the following information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’):
My request surrounds Brexit-related news reports filmed for and shown on BBC News @ 6 and BBC
News @ 10 since June 2016. I would like to know what proportion of news reports have been
hosted in Leave-voting constituencies and the equivalent statistics for Remain-voting
constituencies. Alternatively, I would settle for a list of places in the UK which have hosted Brexit-
related news articles for BBC News @ 6 and BBC News @ 10 since June 2016.
The information you have requested is excluded from the Act because if held it would be 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 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.
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. However, the BBC
makes a huge range of information available about our programmes and content on bbc.co.uk.
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.
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, tel: 0303
123 1113 or se
e http://www.ico.org.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,
Information Rights
BBC Legal
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'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 Ofcom (the BBC’s independent regulator) to ensure that the organisation
delivers against this remit by setting key objectives, approving strategy and policy, and monitoring
and assessing performance. Ofcom also safeguard the BBC's independence and ensure the
Corporation is accountable to its audiences and to Parliament.
