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
Ms Pamela Twigge
13th January 2014
Dear Ms Twigge
Freedom of Information request – RFI20131878
Thank you for your request of 14 December 2013 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(“the Act”) seeking the following information:
‘I note that John Humphrys was recently sent to South Africa to cover the funeral of Nelson Mandela, a
trip some may consider unnecessary in view of the number of journalists already there.
I am assuming that the licence fee paid for the trip, and I therefore feel entitled to know the following:
1) What class of air travel Mr Humphrys used - was it First, Business or Economy?
2) The class of hotel at which Mr Humphrys stayed - how many stars?
3) The total cost of sending Mr Humphrys on this trip.’
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
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
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.
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.
On this occasion, we are happy to offer the following information.
The BBC received a large number of complaints that there was too much coverage and you may
be interested in reading this explanation of the editorial rationale which was sent to complainants:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/complaint/deathofnelsonmandela/ We are also happy to
volunteer that over this period we deployed around 120 journalists, technicians and support staff
for this huge international story. We started scaling back significantly following the memorial
service.
Unlike other UK networks, we provided coverage across numerous domestic and global outlets
from a number of different locations for TV, radio and online, including live broadcasts on BBC
Two, rolling news on the News Channel and World News, BBC Breakfast, three daily news
bulletins, coverage across a number of radio programmes and bulletins on 5live, Radio 4 and Radio
2. As always we sought to ensure maximum value for money.
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. 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,
Stephanie Harris,
Head of Accountability
BBC News
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.
