BBC cuts senior manager pay bill by 13.6%

The BBC has cut its senior manager pay bill by 13.6%, and is planning to make further reductions before the end of 2011 to deliver the 25% reduction in the pay bill that was agreed with the BBC Trust.

The organisation published salary details for its 462 permanent licence fee-funded senior managers as part of the BBC’s programme of transparency.

Information on senior manager salaries has previously been made public in response to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and in the BBC’s annual report, but is now to be published in more detailed form in response to a request from the trust.

Caroline Thomson, chief operating officer of the BBC, said: “The BBC faces some tough financial choices ahead as we take on funding for new responsibilities while the licence fee is frozen for six years.

“We want to ensure as much of the licence fee as possible goes into making quality programmes. This means reducing our remaining overheads wherever possible, for example, choosing the cheapest option rather than the quickest.

“That is why we have set more stringent efficiency targets for the background cost of running the BBC than for our content areas, and today’s publication demonstrates we are acting to cut pay, expenses and overheads.

“We also know licence fee payers want more information about how we spend their money. Our disclosure today of more salary information than ever before demonstrates the BBC is leading the way in being open and transparent.”

Read more articles on pay bills