Post by Teddy Bear on Jul 20, 2015 14:38:45 GMT
Something to remember when the BBC speak to us of being open and transparent.
The £9million bill for stars the BBC did not want you to see: Corporation accused of 'duping' public over huge wages paid to top stars by 'hiding' them in public accounts
By Martin Robinson for MailOnline
The BBC was today accused of hiding wages worth £9million handed to some of its biggest stars and keeping almost a dozen more off the wage bill completely.
Its annual report says the corporation paid nine people between £500,000 to £5million but the actual figure is likely to be 20, sources have said.
BBC bosses have refused to name the nine stars 'to protect their personal information', but they are likely to include Graham Norton, Chris Evans, Gary Lineker and David Dimbleby.
But it has emerged today that 11 others, including James Nesbitt, Sir Tom Jones and Jeremy Clarkson, are believed to be in a wider group said to have had their salaries kept secret. This wage bill runs into millions of pounds.
This 'hidden talent' are working on shows made by independent production companies, like The Voice, Top Gear and The Missing.
BBC bosses say they pay these companies a lump sum for the show, meaning that its stars' salaries are included in that cost and are not listed in detail.
Critics have said that this is being used to hoodwink the public over how much is paid to presenters and actors while giving the impression their wage bill is going down.
The Voice is made by indpendent production company Wall to Wall media for the BBC, meaning that the estimated £1million paid to Sir Tom Jones and Will.i.am are not on the corporation's 'talent' list.
The same arrangement with other companies means that former Top Gear stars Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond were also hidden.
Hit drama The Missing starring James Nesbitt was made in conjunction with Belgian producers so he was not also included in the nine stars paid more than £500,000.
Leicestershire Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen told The Sun: 'The public has been duped over how much licence fee money is paid to stars. This raises serious questions about the honesty of BBC senior management.'
A source told the newspaper: 'The BBC could not have secured the stars of The Voice and Top Gear for less than £500,000 each, given the time they spent working on their prime time BBC TV programmes.'
The BBC said they are not hiding spending because the money handed to independent companies last year for programmes transmitted, £468million, is in the annual report.
They say that the amount spent on 'talent' is in that figure, although not broken down.
A spokesman said: 'The BBC, like all broadcasters, commissions some programmes from independent production companies and when we do, it is for them to engage and pay talent. Clearly the BBC is not responsible for the pay of those who are not engaged by us.'
Last week the BBC's annual report revealed massive pay rises for presenters and managers, higher running costs, more staff and a wage bill of nearly £1billion.
Despite its pledges to save money ahead of its charter renewal, the Corporation’s head count rose by 327 to 18,974 in a single year.
And its wage bill shot up £21.5million to £976.5million. It cut back on mid-level managers, only to add 31 senior managers on six-figure salaries.
The BBC now employs at least 74 bosses who earn more than David Cameron’s salary of £142,500. The total wage bill for presenters on more than £1 million rose a fifth to £5.1 million. Those on more than £1million a year included Graham Norton, Gary Lineker and Jeremy Clarkson – before his recent departure.
The BBC’s annual report also revealed that 54 staff were paid off with six-figure redundancy cheques totalling £7 million; another 249 were laid off for a further cost of £11 million;
Back-office costs have surged by nearly £95million, as the BBC spent £683million on ‘support services’ such as property, human resources and finance.
Overall on-screen ‘talent’ pay rose by seven per cent to £208million while audience appreciation is down for TV and online channels but up for radio;
Editorial and general complaints are up by 35 per cent to 259,886.
- BBC paid 9 stars between £500,000 and £5million but will not name them
- Believed to be 11 more whose pay is in that bracket but also kept secret
- Stars including Tom Jones' pay 'hidden' because BBC does not make show
- Top Gear and hit drama The Missing also treated in the same way
By Martin Robinson for MailOnline
The BBC was today accused of hiding wages worth £9million handed to some of its biggest stars and keeping almost a dozen more off the wage bill completely.
Its annual report says the corporation paid nine people between £500,000 to £5million but the actual figure is likely to be 20, sources have said.
BBC bosses have refused to name the nine stars 'to protect their personal information', but they are likely to include Graham Norton, Chris Evans, Gary Lineker and David Dimbleby.
But it has emerged today that 11 others, including James Nesbitt, Sir Tom Jones and Jeremy Clarkson, are believed to be in a wider group said to have had their salaries kept secret. This wage bill runs into millions of pounds.
This 'hidden talent' are working on shows made by independent production companies, like The Voice, Top Gear and The Missing.
BBC bosses say they pay these companies a lump sum for the show, meaning that its stars' salaries are included in that cost and are not listed in detail.
Critics have said that this is being used to hoodwink the public over how much is paid to presenters and actors while giving the impression their wage bill is going down.
The Voice is made by indpendent production company Wall to Wall media for the BBC, meaning that the estimated £1million paid to Sir Tom Jones and Will.i.am are not on the corporation's 'talent' list.
The same arrangement with other companies means that former Top Gear stars Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond were also hidden.
Hit drama The Missing starring James Nesbitt was made in conjunction with Belgian producers so he was not also included in the nine stars paid more than £500,000.
Leicestershire Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen told The Sun: 'The public has been duped over how much licence fee money is paid to stars. This raises serious questions about the honesty of BBC senior management.'
A source told the newspaper: 'The BBC could not have secured the stars of The Voice and Top Gear for less than £500,000 each, given the time they spent working on their prime time BBC TV programmes.'
The BBC said they are not hiding spending because the money handed to independent companies last year for programmes transmitted, £468million, is in the annual report.
They say that the amount spent on 'talent' is in that figure, although not broken down.
A spokesman said: 'The BBC, like all broadcasters, commissions some programmes from independent production companies and when we do, it is for them to engage and pay talent. Clearly the BBC is not responsible for the pay of those who are not engaged by us.'
Last week the BBC's annual report revealed massive pay rises for presenters and managers, higher running costs, more staff and a wage bill of nearly £1billion.
Despite its pledges to save money ahead of its charter renewal, the Corporation’s head count rose by 327 to 18,974 in a single year.
And its wage bill shot up £21.5million to £976.5million. It cut back on mid-level managers, only to add 31 senior managers on six-figure salaries.
The BBC now employs at least 74 bosses who earn more than David Cameron’s salary of £142,500. The total wage bill for presenters on more than £1 million rose a fifth to £5.1 million. Those on more than £1million a year included Graham Norton, Gary Lineker and Jeremy Clarkson – before his recent departure.
The BBC’s annual report also revealed that 54 staff were paid off with six-figure redundancy cheques totalling £7 million; another 249 were laid off for a further cost of £11 million;
Back-office costs have surged by nearly £95million, as the BBC spent £683million on ‘support services’ such as property, human resources and finance.
Overall on-screen ‘talent’ pay rose by seven per cent to £208million while audience appreciation is down for TV and online channels but up for radio;
Editorial and general complaints are up by 35 per cent to 259,886.