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
Philip Latham
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx 1 February 2021
Dear Philip Latham,
Freedom of Information request – RFI20210013
Thank you for your request to the BBC of 2 January 2021 seeking the following information
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000:
“I would like to see how much funding/subsidies/programme investment the EU have
provided to yourselves the BBC from 2014 upto and including 2020”
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.
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/ .
The amount provided to the BBC for 2019/20 is published at the fol owing link;
https://ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/public/consultation/displaylobbyist.do?id=336906714
921-03 For previous years, the BBC received the following from the EU for each financial year
(figures are given to the nearest thousand):
2014/15
£779k
2015/16
£676k
2016/17
£1,221k
2017/18
£1,079k
2018/19
£893K
As set out in section 6(1)(b)(i ) of the Act, our subsidiaries (including BBC Studioworks
Limited, UKTV, BBC Global News Ltd and BBC Studios Ltd), as well as the charities BBC
Media Action and BBC Children in Need, are not subject to the Act. Therefore information
regarding their activities is also not subject to the Act.
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
