Spending on BBC World Service

The request was refused by British Broadcasting Corporation.

Dear British Broadcasting Corporation,

In your annual report you state on page 50 that "Including content, distribution and general support costs, £261 million (2019: £278 million) was spent on the
BBC World Service operating licence."

I want a breakdown of that £261 million spend and an explanation of what spending was reduced or stopped from 2019 leading to the fall of £17 million.

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Craig

FOI Enquiries, British Broadcasting Corporation

Dear Andrew Craig,

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as detailed in your email below. Your request was received on 29 November 2020. We will deal with your request as promptly as possible, and at the latest within 20 working days. If you have any queries about your request, please contact us at the address below.

The reference number for your request is RFI20201861.

Kind regards,

Information Rights

BBC Freedom of Information
BC2 A4, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TP

www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [BBC request email]

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FOI Enquiries, British Broadcasting Corporation

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Craig,

 

Please find attached our response to your request for information,
reference RFI20201861.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights, BBC Legal

BC2A4, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TP

 

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Andrew Craig left an annotation ()

BBC trying to avoid releasing information by claiming it has an exemption. Complaint sent to the ICO.

J Flynn left an annotation ()

ICO will decline to accept this until all avenues have first been exhausted, e.g. you need to give the organisation the opportunity to conduct an internal review first.

I suspect it will still be declined though - that exemption covers a lot of ground.

Andrew Craig left an annotation ()

On your first point, the BBC response does say that it does not offer an internal review when the information requested is not covered by the Act, as it claims is the case with my request.

And on your second point, my complaint to the ICO is that the BBC is clearly trying to hide financial information and nothing directly related to journalism, art or literature. Hopefully the ICO will see that.

J Flynn left an annotation ()

Quite right re the review procedure, I missed that bit.