The Green paper

On 2 March 2005, Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, published the Government's Green Paper containing some key decision and some options for the future of the BBC. The paper looks at all aspects of the BBC, from programming and funding through governance and regulation to the BBC's accountability to the public.

The key commitments in the Green Paper are:

the abolition of BBC Governors, and their replacement by a BBC Trust
the BBC to continue to be established by Royal Charter - the next one lasting 10 years
continuation of the licence fee, at a level to be set in the future
a review of possible alternative methods of funding the BBC - subscription, for example - before the end of the next Charter period

There are many other issues discussed and questions posed for further discussions.

The BBC published its formal response to the Green Paper on 23 May 2005.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport invited comments on the Green Paper proposals. The deadline for comments was 31 May 2005. You can read the published responses here.

Top

Download the
Green Paper

Full paper PDF (1.42Mb)

BBC's Response

Download the BBC's formal response to the Green Paper:

PDF (270Kb)

PDFs are exact copies of the original. If you don't have the necessary software, choose the text only version, or download the free Adobe Reader™

The Green paper

Download theGreen Paper

BBC's Response

Download the
Green Paper