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
Ms Linda Quinton
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
23 April 2021
Dear Ms Quinton,
Freedom of Information request – RFI20210599
Thank you for your request to the BBC of 12 April seeking the following information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’):
‘1. How many people used your targeted online form which allowed people to complain about “too much
TV coverage” of the death of Prince Philip before your closed it down?
2. How many complaints relating to the TV coverage were received by the BBC through the normal online
form?
3. How many telephone calls were received on the same subject?
4. Please provide the viewing figures for BBC1 and BBC2 between 18.00 and 21.00 on that Friday 9th April
2020?’
If held, the information you requested is held for the purposes of ‘art, journalism or literature’. The
Act provides that the BBC is not obliged to disclose this type of information and we will not be
disclosing the information on this occasion.
Legal explanation
Part VI of Schedule 1 to the Act 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 activities1.
This is an important way that the BBC and other public service broadcasters can preserve their
independence by ensuring information about matters including editorial decisions about
programming and budgets allocated to such programming, are not subject to undue public scrutiny.
It is important that the BBC is an independent and impartial news organisation.
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 https://bbc.co.uk.
However, the BBC has published the number of complaints received regarding the coverage of the
passing of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the response to complaints which can be
found here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaint/hrhtheprincephilipdukeofedinburghcoverage
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 https://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
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.
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.
