27 Accepted

We asked the BBC to provide detail on the changes it was making to improve...

Recommendation
We asked the BBC to provide detail on the changes it was making to improve its monitoring of the World Service’s savings programmes. The BBC told us that it had introduced a new monthly system for tracking finances which brings key information, such as staff numbers and savings made, together in one place.53 However, the BBC told us that its World Service finance systems required investment as it depended on significant levels of staff manually entering data into spreadsheets.54 The BBC told us that it had also improved its tracking of non-financial metrics of the World Service savings programmes. It explained that it has implemented a new monthly performance review that reviews non-financial metrics and considers the impact of changes to inputs, such as reduced expenditure, on its outputs, such as its level of content, and its outcomes, such as levels of audience trust.55 51 Q 28 52 Q 19 53 Q 29 54 Q 6 55 Q 30 16
Government Response Summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's recommendation to improve its monitoring systems and will develop global and regional scorecards for financial and non-financial metrics by March 2027. These scorecards are currently being trialled and will be used for business management and accountability across various programmes.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government Accepted
6.1 The BBC agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2027 6.2 The World Service is developing global and regional scorecards which look at both financial and non-financial metrics across input, output, and outcome areas. These are being trialled currently and will be used for business management and accountability through the quarterly and annual business review processes. They will form a consistent suite of metrics that will be tracked across transformation, ongoing efficiency and major savings programmes. 6.3 In addition, a specific separate set of metrics are being developed to assess non-financial benefits of the regional governance structure in areas such as leadership and accountability, faster decision-making, stronger governance, compliance and risk management, among others.
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 0.4 yrs
Report published 13 Mar 2026