The BBC has scored a major win in its negotiations with the government, after culture secretary Lisa Nandy indicated the 10-year renewal process will be ditched in favour of a permanent BBC charter.
Speaking at the Society of Editors conference 2026 yesterday, Nandy said: “While the terms, the structures and the funding for the BBC will continue to be negotiated every several years, we should seek to end the bizarre situation where if the charter isn’t agreed in time, the BBC ceases to exist…
“The truth is we would not accept this for the NHS and we should not accept it for the BBC. This is about protecting the BBC - and everything that it represents - for the long term for all of us.”
The BBC has been lobbying hard for just this. Some 18 months ago, chair Samir Shah used his first major speech to criticise the “sense of almost perpetual government review” over the broadcaster and push for a permanent charter.
And in its recent Green Paper consultation response, the corporation elaborated on its position.
It flagged the “existential threat” that at the end of each 10-year period, if no new charter has been put forward, the BBC ceases to exist, regardless of the views of the public or parliament.
And it added that a charter with an explicit end date has operational and commercial implications. When it carries out third party negotiations near a funding settlement or end of charter period, the supplier market often reacts by pricing in explicit additional risks. “The BBC’s ability to secure discounts for longer term contracts is lost,” it said.
The response caveated that the BBC does not have an “innate right to exist”, and that any decision on its future should be supported by a public mandate and be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
“The new charter should also ensure that… the BBC’s mission, public purposes and general duties remain relevant and aligned to the needs of each new generation with a minimum term of review.
“These proposed reforms would protect the BBC’s independence, enabling renewal while also giving the certainty the BBC needs to plan for the future and serve all audiences effectively.”
Nandy spelled out that in exchange for a permanent charter she wants the BBC to demonstrate greater accountability to licence fee payers, and highlighted that more commissioning power must be devolved out of London.
She said: “We intend to strengthen the accountability of the leadership of the BBC – not to politicians – but to the people it serves in every nation and region.
This will include commissioning power, not just programming, moving much closer to people, stronger and more streamlined internal accountability, so that staff can hold their leadership to account, with a much clearer expectation that licence fee payers will be able to see how their money is spent and the result of those decisions.”
Her assertion comes shortly after Tim Davie announced a plan for more power and spend will be deployed outside of London, with the “majority” of commissioning roles to be based across the UK over the course of the next charter.
This story first appeared on Screen’s sister site Broadcast
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