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Information Rights
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bbc.co.uk/privacy
Colin Hamilton
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx 5 December 2019
Dear Colin Hamilton,
Freedom of Information request – RFI20191789
Thank you for your request to the BBC of 9 November 2019 seeking the following
information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000:
“Please inform me how much Funding has been received by the BBC from the EU including
any of its institutions with information on its purpose, in the last 10 years.”
In certain limited circumstances the BBC does, like many other organisations such as central
Government departments and regional government, receive some funding from EU sources.
The BBC has clear obligations to maintain a research and development centre of excellence
for the benefit of the broadcasting sector as a whole (specifically Clause 87 of the Framework
Agreement). In fulfilling its obligation, the BBC must bear in mind the over-arching principle of
value for money for the licence-fee payer and seek out any additional appropriate sources of
funding. The BBC receives funds from the EU Framework Programme for Research &
Development projects. There is no overlap from these projects to editorial areas such as
BBC News. Instead, the BBC may seek external partners and funding for technology-based
projects based on existing BBC R&D priorities and business needs.
The BBC received the following from the EU in the time period 2010/11 until 2018/19 for
each financial year (figures are given to the nearest thousand):
2010/11
£758k
2011/12
£1,027k
2012/13
£468k
2013/14
£878k
2014/15
£779k
2015/16
£676k
2016/17
£1,221k
2017/18
£1,079k
2018/19
£893K
As financial data is only held for seven years we are unfortunately unable to given an accurate
figure for the 2009/10 period.
Funding received by BBC R&D from the European Commission is disclosed in the
EU
Transparency Register. While the UK currently pays in to the EU there’s no reason why the
BBC shouldn’t apply for grants which could otherwise go to other parts of the EU.
No news programmes are permitted to take external funding and therefore cannot take EU
funding at al , ensuring it cannot impact on editorial decisions. Furthermore, no EU funds are
directly accessed by any in-house BBC productions. In line with its overall editorial
independence, the BBC has in place strict rules to ensure that any external funding it receives
does not diminish the BBC’s editorial control of BBC output nor comprises its editorial
impartiality or integrity. Further information is available in the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines
which are published at the following link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines/external-relationships/ .
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied that we have complied with the Act in responding to your request, 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. A request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of
receiving the BBC’s response to your original request.
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, Tel: 0303 123 1113 or see
https://ico.org.uk/. Yours sincerely,
Information Rights BBC Freedom of Information
BC2 A4, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TP
2
