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 Rights
bbc.co.uk/foi
bbc.co.uk/privacy
Benjy Potter
By ema
il to: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
28 February 2017
Dear Benjy Potter,
Freedom of Information request – RFI20170244
Thank you for your request to the BBC of 03 February 2017 seeking the following information
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’):
How much toilet roll has the BBC bought over the last five years?
Breakdown of 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 please.
Under section 1(1) of the Act, we can confirm that the BBC does not hold this information. Toilet
paper is not purchased directly by the BBC but by our facilities management contractor.
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.
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 SK9 5AF. Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 (national rate) or see
http://www.ico.org.uk/.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Perry
Head of Operations
BBC Workplace, London Portfolio
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.
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