Category : BBC
Date : 27.04.2004
Printable version
BBC Governors
today publish the latest findings of their Programme Complaints Committee
for the period 1 January to 31 March 2004.
The Governors Programme Complaints Committee (GPCC) is
responsible for monitoring complaints handling by the BBC, including
hearing appeals from complainants who are not happy with the response
they have received from BBC Management.
The GPCC came to findings on seven appeals in this quarter:
six concerned matters of fairness or accuracy; and one concerned a matter
of taste and decency.
Of these appeals, two were upheld in full and one in
part.
In the foreword to the bulletin, Chairman of the Governors'
Programme Complaints Committee, Sir Robert Smith, said: "Over the
past 18 months, the full Board has enhanced its oversight of impartiality
across the BBC's output.
"It now receives quarterly reporting on impartiality,
and also commissions two independent reviews of editorial output each
year to look at the BBC's handling of specific controversial subjects.
"This is in addition to receiving reporting on
the BBC's overall editorial compliance twice a year."
Notes to Editors
The bulletin can be found at http://bbc.kongjiang.org/www.bbc.co.uk/info/policies/programmecomplaints/
The Governors' Programme Complaints Committee (GPCC) consists of five
Governors of the BBC, to whom the full Board of Governors has delegated
the power to consider appeals.
They are: Sir Robert Smith, Dame Pauline Neville-Jones,
Professor Fabian Monds, Ranjit Sondhi and Angela Sarkis.
The GPCC's conclusions are reported to the full Board.
It is the specific function of the GPCC to consider
appeals against decisions and actions of the Programme Complaints Unit
or of the Directors of BBC Divisions in dealing with serious editorial
complaints.
The GPCC considers appeals in relation to complaints
about programmes transmitted, or material carried, by the BBC's domestic
public services on radio, television and online, and which allege:
that the complainant has suffered unfair treatment in a transmitted
item
that the complainant's privacy has been unjustifiably infringed,
either in a programme or item as transmitted or in the process of making
the programme or item, or
that there has otherwise been a failure adequately to observe
the BBC's editorial guidelines.
