Public Service Broadcasting Advisory Panel - Terms of Reference
The Terms of Reference for the expert panel appointed to advise on the future of public service broadcasting.
Role and purpose
The purpose of the Advisory Panel is to provide independent expertise and advice for the government’s strategic review of public service broadcasting (PSB).
In particular, the Panel shall advise Ministers on key policy issues relevant to the future of public service broadcasting, including:
● Whether the concept of public service broadcasting is still needed, and, if so, what a modern PSB system should contribute to economic, cultural and democratic life across the United Kingdom
● How PSB should be delivered in an age where media consumption is increasingly diversified, including considering the roles of different organisations, platforms, and services. This will include, for example, consideration of the future role of the Channel 4 Television Corporation
● Whether the legislative and regulatory framework for PSB, when viewed in the context of the media landscape as a whole, needs to change to ensure that the PSB system can continue to deliver sustainably on its objectives; and
● Whether the current funding model for PSB is sustainable in the longer term and remains fit for purpose. For the avoidance of doubt, the Panel will not consider or advise on the licence fee settlement for the period from 2022
It shall do this by:
● Considering the issues raised by, and recommendations resulting from, Ofcom in its PSB Review
● Bringing to bear members’ personal experience and expertise on the policy debates
● Leveraging external expertise, including by supporting the commissioning of independent research where appropriate; and
● Sharing its conclusions with government in a format to be determined by the Panel
The Panel may make recommendations about policy and process, but ultimate responsibility for these decisions will remain with DCMS Ministers and the government.
Membership
Membership of the Advisory Panel is voluntary and by invitation from the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and/or the Minister of State for Media and Data, who will chair the Panel.
Members will possess a range of skills, experience and expertise that enables them to contribute independently and in different ways to the government review of the public service broadcasting landscape.
The Panel will normally consist of not more than 10 members and members are appointed on the basis of their personal experience not as representatives of their respective organisations
The members are:
● Baroness Bertin – Senior Advisor at BT and former Press Secretary to David Cameron
● Miranda Curtis CMG – Non-Executive Director of Liberty Global
● Lord Grade of Yarmouth CBE – Former Chief Executive of Channel 4, Chairman of the BBC Board of Governors, and Executive Chairman of ITV plc
● Andrew Griffith MP – Member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs, former Chief Operating Officer & CFO of Sky Group plc and Chairman of the Royal Television Society 2017 Cambridge Convention
● John Hardie – Former CEO and Editor-in-Chief at ITN
● Nicola Mendelsohn CBE – Vice President for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Facebook
● Dr Samir Shah CBE – Chief Executive of Juniper Productions, Chair of the Museum of the Home and former Deputy Chair, V&A
● Sophie Turner Laing OBE – Former CEO of Endemol Shine Group
● Jane Turton – Chief Executive of All3Media
Additional members may be co-opted as and when required by the Chair. All members will be asked to complete a conflict-of-interest declaration and may be asked to refrain from participating in discussions or other mitigation in cases where a conflict arises.
Secretariat services will be provided by officials from DCMS.
Status
The Advisory Panel has no legal status and is not set up under the Cabinet Office guidelines for public appointments. It will operate on a voluntary basis in line with the tasks set out in this remit.
Proceedings and discussions of the Panel, other than these terms of reference, shall remain confidential unless or until otherwise instructed by the Chair. Similarly, the default shall be that the Panel’s conclusions, irrespective of their format, shall be addressed internally to DCMS Ministers. Any decision to make the Panel’s conclusions public shall be for Ministers.
Expenses will be provided via DCMS officials for travel and cover, where this is necessary.
Meetings
The Advisory Panel will meet 6 times over the course of a year, at times agreed in advance by the Secretary of State’s or Minister of State’s office. Meetings will normally last up to two hours and will cover issues of policy. Given the personal basis on which members are appointed, if members are not able to attend substitutes will not normally be appropriate. Papers will be circulated one week in advance of each meeting and action points, within one week of each meeting taking place.