The licence fee is the "least worst" way to fund the BBC - or at least that is the conclusion of the government, which has published its White Paper proposals for the future of the Beeb, proposals which should form the basis of the Corporation's new charter, which is up for renewal this year. That conclusion means the licence fee will remain until at least 2016 - though officials said that that didn't mean the Beeb could get complacent, adding that they would expect more transparency as to how licence fee funds are spent, and that they were still considering making some of the money generated available to other broadcasters with public service aims, such as Channel 4.
Elsewhere in the White Paper the government added six more aims to the Corporation's traditional remit to "inform, educate and entertain" - to sustain citizenship and civil society (whatever that means), to promote education, to stimulate creativity, to reflect the identity of the UK's nations, regions and communities, to bring the world to the UK and the UK to the world, and to help build digital Britain. The Paper also set out a new system for regulation for the BBC based around a 'trust' rather than the existing board of 'governors'. The governors system came under particular criticism during that whole Hutton Enquiry thing, when questions were asked as to whether one group of people could fulfil the dual task of both championing and judging the Corporation. The new trust will aim, perhaps idealistically, to be the champion not of the Corporation itself, but of the licence fee payers' interests.
BBC bosses warmly welcomed the White Paper, suggesting it pretty much says what they wanted it to say. Commercial broadcasting chiefs were generally positive but cautious of the proposals. ITV top man Charles Allen welcomed the trust idea in particular, but added: "The BBC's funding must be proportionate to its needs and should not be able to stifle competition and innovation". Paul Brown of the Commercial Radio Companies Association, meanwhile, raised doubts as to how effective the trust could be, saying: "I think the chairman of the Trust, Michael Grade, has got his work cut out to make sure that it is trustworthy and is seen to be impartial."