Post by Teddy Bear on Dec 4, 2013 21:18:39 GMT
I have yet to see any positive reasons from the viewpoint of our society for the BBC to have acquired this studio in Salford.
In total, the corporation spent £942million setting up a new northern base to help redress a perceived London-centric bias in its coverage, but has had to offer 900 staff an average of £28,000 each to persuade them to move.
We've also covered a myriad other expenses involved in this move and maintaining their presence there, including paying staff a total of £24million in allowances following the move to Salford.
Now we learn that they have spent a total of £1.3 Million in flights between there and London since they opened just over 2 years ago.
Funny how they don't see the increase of carbon emissions as a result of all this travelling. But we already know just how hypocritical the BBC is so it's hardly surprising they don't see how just this reveals their real mindset. A complete waste of licence fee payers money just to expand BBC territory.
A spokesman for BBC Procurement said: 'Spend on flights is subject to rigorous scrutiny and staff are encouraged to use alternatives to travel such as video conferencing wherever possible, but when travel is necessary staff should use the lowest cost of travel and fare.'
'The BBC is a national broadcaster and travel is an integral part of our core spend in bringing high quality programmes to our viewers (and) much of these costs will have been programme related.
High quality programmes?
Must be talking about the repeats from the 70s and 80s.
In total, the corporation spent £942million setting up a new northern base to help redress a perceived London-centric bias in its coverage, but has had to offer 900 staff an average of £28,000 each to persuade them to move.
We've also covered a myriad other expenses involved in this move and maintaining their presence there, including paying staff a total of £24million in allowances following the move to Salford.
Now we learn that they have spent a total of £1.3 Million in flights between there and London since they opened just over 2 years ago.
Funny how they don't see the increase of carbon emissions as a result of all this travelling. But we already know just how hypocritical the BBC is so it's hardly surprising they don't see how just this reveals their real mindset. A complete waste of licence fee payers money just to expand BBC territory.
A spokesman for BBC Procurement said: 'Spend on flights is subject to rigorous scrutiny and staff are encouraged to use alternatives to travel such as video conferencing wherever possible, but when travel is necessary staff should use the lowest cost of travel and fare.'
'The BBC is a national broadcaster and travel is an integral part of our core spend in bringing high quality programmes to our viewers (and) much of these costs will have been programme related.
High quality programmes?
Must be talking about the repeats from the 70s and 80s.
BBC staff spend £1.3m on flights between London and Manchester since shows were moved to MediaCityUK
By Lucy Crossley
The BBC has spent more than £1.3m on return flights for workers going between London and Manchester since many of its programmes were moved north.
Bosses at the corporation admitted that following the opening of MediaCityUK in Salford in May 2011, the broadcaster has spent thousands of pounds every month flying staff between the capital and the new base.
Around 2,300 staff work at the Salford Quays site, where Match Of The Day, BBC Breakfast, Radio 5 Live, Blue Peter and CBBC are produced.
The programmes, and many others, had previously been made at the BBC's iconic Television Centre in White City, west London, which closed in March this year.
It was sold in July 2012 for £200 million and developer Stanhope PLC plans to turn the building into a modern studio centre, hotel, apartments, as well as a home for the commercial headquarters of the BBC.
A Freedom of Information request revealed today shows that the BBC spent £377,000 on flights between May 2011 and March 2012.
Between April 2012 and March of this year, that figure rose to a staggering £605,000, and from April to September this year the corporation has spent a total of £312,000 - making a grand total of £1,294,000 in just 29 months.
The works out as an average of £44,620 spent every month on flights to and from the capital and MediaCity UK.
The total figure spent could even be hundreds of thousands of pounds more as the data only includes flights booked through the BBC's central booking system.
Many staff book flights to and from the two bases themselves - meaning their reservations do not go through the central booking system - and then claim the cash back on expenses.
A BBC source, who asked not to be named, said: 'We all knew the travel costs would sky-rocket when Salford opened.'
A spokesman for BBC Procurement said: 'Spend on flights is subject to rigorous scrutiny and staff are encouraged to use alternatives to travel such as video conferencing wherever possible, but when travel is necessary staff should use the lowest cost of travel and fare.'
'The BBC is a national broadcaster and travel is an integral part of our core spend in bringing high quality programmes to our viewers (and) much of these costs will have been programme related.
'BBC North at MediaCityUK is the BBC's largest creative hub outside of London, and is home to 24 BBC departments, including Children's, Sport, Radio 5 live and BBC Breakfast.'
Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the campaign group TaxPayers' Alliance, said that the BBC should ensure that licence fee payers do not lose out because of the money spent on flights.
He said: 'The move to Salford meant that it was inevitable that travel costs for BBC guests and staff would increase.
'But bosses at the broadcaster must ensure that travel between the two cities represents value for the licence fee and that staff have a duty to book cheapest option.
'Flying between Manchester and London should only be done in exceptional circumstances, and only when it represents the best deal for licence fee payers.'
The BBC has previously been criticised for paying staff a total of £24million in allowances following the move to Salford.
A report by the public accounts committee of MPs, released in October, said many of the allowances were ‘excessive’ and ‘difficult to justify’ to licence fee payers.
In total, the corporation spent £942million setting up a new northern base to help redress a perceived London-centric bias in its coverage, but has had to offer 900 staff an average of £28,000 each to persuade them to move.
Some staff were offered perks including a guaranteed minimum price on their old home if they sold it and moved north.
They could also claim a two-year ‘remote location allowance’ worth £1,900 a month to cover the cost of travel and renting a property in Salford if they were unwilling to commit to move.
Other staff were offered a one off payment of £5,000 to help them move, while homeowners could claim £3,000 towards household goods.
Despite the huge expense of moving to Salford, the BBC does not own its new office space or studios. Instead, it rents them from real estate giant the Peel Group.
The PAC also raised concerns about the 10-year arrangement, saying the BBC could risk locking itself into making payments for buildings it may not use.
- New headquarters in Salford Quays was opened in May 2011
- Freedom of information data shows thousands spent on flights per month
- Programmes such as Match Of The Day and Blue Peter made in Manchester
- BBC says staff encouraged to use alternatives to travel where possible
- Travel is 'integral' to making high quality programmes, says spokesman
By Lucy Crossley
The BBC has spent more than £1.3m on return flights for workers going between London and Manchester since many of its programmes were moved north.
Bosses at the corporation admitted that following the opening of MediaCityUK in Salford in May 2011, the broadcaster has spent thousands of pounds every month flying staff between the capital and the new base.
Around 2,300 staff work at the Salford Quays site, where Match Of The Day, BBC Breakfast, Radio 5 Live, Blue Peter and CBBC are produced.
The programmes, and many others, had previously been made at the BBC's iconic Television Centre in White City, west London, which closed in March this year.
It was sold in July 2012 for £200 million and developer Stanhope PLC plans to turn the building into a modern studio centre, hotel, apartments, as well as a home for the commercial headquarters of the BBC.
A Freedom of Information request revealed today shows that the BBC spent £377,000 on flights between May 2011 and March 2012.
Between April 2012 and March of this year, that figure rose to a staggering £605,000, and from April to September this year the corporation has spent a total of £312,000 - making a grand total of £1,294,000 in just 29 months.
The works out as an average of £44,620 spent every month on flights to and from the capital and MediaCity UK.
The total figure spent could even be hundreds of thousands of pounds more as the data only includes flights booked through the BBC's central booking system.
Many staff book flights to and from the two bases themselves - meaning their reservations do not go through the central booking system - and then claim the cash back on expenses.
A BBC source, who asked not to be named, said: 'We all knew the travel costs would sky-rocket when Salford opened.'
A spokesman for BBC Procurement said: 'Spend on flights is subject to rigorous scrutiny and staff are encouraged to use alternatives to travel such as video conferencing wherever possible, but when travel is necessary staff should use the lowest cost of travel and fare.'
'The BBC is a national broadcaster and travel is an integral part of our core spend in bringing high quality programmes to our viewers (and) much of these costs will have been programme related.
'BBC North at MediaCityUK is the BBC's largest creative hub outside of London, and is home to 24 BBC departments, including Children's, Sport, Radio 5 live and BBC Breakfast.'
Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the campaign group TaxPayers' Alliance, said that the BBC should ensure that licence fee payers do not lose out because of the money spent on flights.
He said: 'The move to Salford meant that it was inevitable that travel costs for BBC guests and staff would increase.
'But bosses at the broadcaster must ensure that travel between the two cities represents value for the licence fee and that staff have a duty to book cheapest option.
'Flying between Manchester and London should only be done in exceptional circumstances, and only when it represents the best deal for licence fee payers.'
The BBC has previously been criticised for paying staff a total of £24million in allowances following the move to Salford.
A report by the public accounts committee of MPs, released in October, said many of the allowances were ‘excessive’ and ‘difficult to justify’ to licence fee payers.
In total, the corporation spent £942million setting up a new northern base to help redress a perceived London-centric bias in its coverage, but has had to offer 900 staff an average of £28,000 each to persuade them to move.
Some staff were offered perks including a guaranteed minimum price on their old home if they sold it and moved north.
They could also claim a two-year ‘remote location allowance’ worth £1,900 a month to cover the cost of travel and renting a property in Salford if they were unwilling to commit to move.
Other staff were offered a one off payment of £5,000 to help them move, while homeowners could claim £3,000 towards household goods.
Despite the huge expense of moving to Salford, the BBC does not own its new office space or studios. Instead, it rents them from real estate giant the Peel Group.
The PAC also raised concerns about the 10-year arrangement, saying the BBC could risk locking itself into making payments for buildings it may not use.