Post by Teddy Bear on Jan 21, 2015 19:05:36 GMT
The article speaks for itself.
BBC's headquarters cost £13,000 for every member of staff to run
The National Audit Office, Britain's public spending watchdog, issues a damning report on the cost of the BBC's new headquarters
By Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent
The BBC's new £1 billion headquarters cost £13,000 for every member of staff to run, three times more than similar commercial buildings.
A damning report by the National Audit Office found that the corporation's new headquarters cost £89 million a year to run, equivalent to a third of the corporation's running costs.
Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said that the figure appeared to be "ridiculously" high and called on the BBC to explain itself.
The National Audit Office said that the BBC needs to make "better use of space to achieve value for money" after it found that building's running costs dwarf those of the rest of the corporation.
It found that Broadcasting House cost three times more than similar UK properties to run and 49 per cent more than similar properties in London.
It also said that the corporation is failing to meet its target of capping the cost of running its portfolio of properties at 6 per cent of licence fee income. It is currently 7.3 per cent.
Amyas Morse, the head of the National Audit Office, said: “The BBC has made good progress in upgrading its estate but it will need to press ahead with its plans to make better use of space to achieve value for money.
“The BBC will also need to maintain enough flexibility in its leasehold and freehold portfolio to allow its estate to adapt quickly to the changing needs of an organisation operating in a fast-changing sector.”
Nick Prettejohn, chairman of the BBC Trust's value for money committee, said: “The BBC has reduced the size of the estate by almost a third while at the same time adding new TV channels and radio stations, and modernising its buildings. These are significant achievements and I am pleased that the NAO have recognised the good progress made.
“Today’s report also gives a clear steer on where further improvements can be made and the Trust will continue to track progress to make sure the NAO’s recommendations are implemented in full.”
A BBC spokesman said: "Broadcasting House is not comparable to other buildings. It makes around half of all BBC output, houses the biggest newsroom in Europe and broadcasts globally 24 hours a day every day of the week, which requires unique levels of technology and security.
"Construction cost £31m less than the 2006 budget stated even taking account of the preservation of the Grade 2 listed Art Deco architecture."
Despite its high running costs, Broadcasting House has been beset by problems from broken lifts to overflowing lavatories.
Staff at New Broadcasting House in London's West End have said that the corporation's headquarters are a "total mess", with loos often boarded up with 'out of order' signs attached.
They say that since the building was opened in 2012 it has suffered a string of "loo-related problems".
In December last year it was revealed that BBC bosses had to put up notices asking staff to stop pinching loo roll – with even the sign being ripped off and stolen from the lavatory door.
And this week, BBC worker Andrew Wiggins – a broadcast media specialist – revealed how the lavatories at the BBC are becoming a major problem for the 6,000 staff who work at New Broadcasting House.
Mr Wiggins said various BBC workers had complained about numerous problems at the HQ and that bosses were ignoring the fact that money should have been spent on the 'basics'.
Writing in the BBC's internal magazine Ariel on Tuesday, Mr Wiggins said: "I could mention broken taps, the constantly out of order lifts, or automated doors that no longer open.
"But the single most annoying and embarrassing issue has got to be the lavatories.
"Is there a single lavatory anywhere in NBH that hasn't been out of order for an extended period during the last 12 months?
"I don't often manage to find an available lavatory on my own floor and spend increasingly urgent minutes trying to find one on other floors.
"In a building of so many people the provision for lavatory facilities is woefully short, and ever shorter when they're out of service so regularly.
"It seems so much of the £1bn was spent on making the building look a certain way, without much care taken to spec all of its facilities (from technology to lavatories) to be hard-wearing and actually usable on a daily basis."
Mr Wiggins also referred to a recently penned note complaining about a host of failings by respected BBC worker Paul Moss, who works for The World Tonight on Radio 4, saying he recognised all the problems he referred to.
Mr Moss said he was left fuming after a string of breakdowns left staff with no Internet or telephone connections – as well as out-of-order lifts and broken dishwashers.
Mr Moss wrote: "I had to deal with our telephone system not working, the Internet connection breaking down on my computer ('You've got a profile problem, mate')..and the archive having an ongoing issue.
"Fed up with trying to work like this, I set off for the canteen but the lift was broken, and the non-automatic automatic door still had its sign apologising for the inconvenience of its continued breakdown.
"Many of us were unsettled to find that, for the first time in weeks, the dishwasher at our kitchen station was working, but normal service was soon resumed when it broke down again."
The National Audit Office, Britain's public spending watchdog, issues a damning report on the cost of the BBC's new headquarters
By Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent
The BBC's new £1 billion headquarters cost £13,000 for every member of staff to run, three times more than similar commercial buildings.
A damning report by the National Audit Office found that the corporation's new headquarters cost £89 million a year to run, equivalent to a third of the corporation's running costs.
Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said that the figure appeared to be "ridiculously" high and called on the BBC to explain itself.
The National Audit Office said that the BBC needs to make "better use of space to achieve value for money" after it found that building's running costs dwarf those of the rest of the corporation.
It found that Broadcasting House cost three times more than similar UK properties to run and 49 per cent more than similar properties in London.
It also said that the corporation is failing to meet its target of capping the cost of running its portfolio of properties at 6 per cent of licence fee income. It is currently 7.3 per cent.
Amyas Morse, the head of the National Audit Office, said: “The BBC has made good progress in upgrading its estate but it will need to press ahead with its plans to make better use of space to achieve value for money.
“The BBC will also need to maintain enough flexibility in its leasehold and freehold portfolio to allow its estate to adapt quickly to the changing needs of an organisation operating in a fast-changing sector.”
Nick Prettejohn, chairman of the BBC Trust's value for money committee, said: “The BBC has reduced the size of the estate by almost a third while at the same time adding new TV channels and radio stations, and modernising its buildings. These are significant achievements and I am pleased that the NAO have recognised the good progress made.
“Today’s report also gives a clear steer on where further improvements can be made and the Trust will continue to track progress to make sure the NAO’s recommendations are implemented in full.”
A BBC spokesman said: "Broadcasting House is not comparable to other buildings. It makes around half of all BBC output, houses the biggest newsroom in Europe and broadcasts globally 24 hours a day every day of the week, which requires unique levels of technology and security.
"Construction cost £31m less than the 2006 budget stated even taking account of the preservation of the Grade 2 listed Art Deco architecture."
Despite its high running costs, Broadcasting House has been beset by problems from broken lifts to overflowing lavatories.
Staff at New Broadcasting House in London's West End have said that the corporation's headquarters are a "total mess", with loos often boarded up with 'out of order' signs attached.
They say that since the building was opened in 2012 it has suffered a string of "loo-related problems".
In December last year it was revealed that BBC bosses had to put up notices asking staff to stop pinching loo roll – with even the sign being ripped off and stolen from the lavatory door.
And this week, BBC worker Andrew Wiggins – a broadcast media specialist – revealed how the lavatories at the BBC are becoming a major problem for the 6,000 staff who work at New Broadcasting House.
Mr Wiggins said various BBC workers had complained about numerous problems at the HQ and that bosses were ignoring the fact that money should have been spent on the 'basics'.
Writing in the BBC's internal magazine Ariel on Tuesday, Mr Wiggins said: "I could mention broken taps, the constantly out of order lifts, or automated doors that no longer open.
"But the single most annoying and embarrassing issue has got to be the lavatories.
"Is there a single lavatory anywhere in NBH that hasn't been out of order for an extended period during the last 12 months?
"I don't often manage to find an available lavatory on my own floor and spend increasingly urgent minutes trying to find one on other floors.
"In a building of so many people the provision for lavatory facilities is woefully short, and ever shorter when they're out of service so regularly.
"It seems so much of the £1bn was spent on making the building look a certain way, without much care taken to spec all of its facilities (from technology to lavatories) to be hard-wearing and actually usable on a daily basis."
Mr Wiggins also referred to a recently penned note complaining about a host of failings by respected BBC worker Paul Moss, who works for The World Tonight on Radio 4, saying he recognised all the problems he referred to.
Mr Moss said he was left fuming after a string of breakdowns left staff with no Internet or telephone connections – as well as out-of-order lifts and broken dishwashers.
Mr Moss wrote: "I had to deal with our telephone system not working, the Internet connection breaking down on my computer ('You've got a profile problem, mate')..and the archive having an ongoing issue.
"Fed up with trying to work like this, I set off for the canteen but the lift was broken, and the non-automatic automatic door still had its sign apologising for the inconvenience of its continued breakdown.
"Many of us were unsettled to find that, for the first time in weeks, the dishwasher at our kitchen station was working, but normal service was soon resumed when it broke down again."