Mr John Walker
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
24 September 2009
Dear Mr Walker
Freedom of Information Act 2000 – RFI20091259
Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act (‘the Act’) of 28 August,
repeated below.
“1. Who wrote the BBC's Charter?
The BBC Charter was drafted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (the ‘DCMS’) for
execution by the Queen.
In the BBC Charter, the BBC's "public services" include:
* Sustaining citizenship and civil society; * Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence;
2. What is the definition of "civil society" as used by the BBC?
3. What is the definition of "cultural excellence" as used by the BBC?”
Please note that you have listed two of the BBC’s public purposes. The public purposes are
distinct from the BBC’s public services.
As these terms have a plain English, dictionary meaning, the BBC does not hold written definitions
of them.
The BBC’s public purposes are laid out in the BBC Charter. The approach to how the BBC should
fulfil these requirements is set out in Clause 5 of the BBC Agreement and further expanded in the
BBC Trust's Purpose Remits. The Purpose Remits are available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/about/how_we_govern/purpose_remits/index.shtml.
I hope you find this information useful.
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied with this response 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,
Rachael Ward
Adviser, Information Policy & Compliance.