BBC’s Diversity “drive” – Freedom of Information Act Requests

Re: BBC’s “Positive” discrimination proposals

When I read about these I wrote a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act to the BBC and here is the text of my letter:-


Dear Sirs

Re: BBC’s Diversity “drive” – Freedom of Information Act Requests

I read the Daily Telegraph’s article on Saturday, 23rd April talking about the BBC’s sweeping new “Diversity” targets incorporated into a new “Diversity Strategy”, which appears to show that the BBC, in its drive to be politically correct, has abandoned all sense of both equality and of common sense.

It appears, for instance, that, in News Programmes, you propose that 50% of all commentators, experts and others brought onto the programme should be women regardless of whether they actually represent a genuine diversity of opinion, rather than represent a mere proportion of the population in the neo Soviet sense.

I also read that there are proposed targets across the BBC’s screen and back room staff which are to mirror the national population.

Since 60.4% of the population of England, according to the 2011 Census, identified themselves as being of “English-only” national identity, I ask, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, whether you propose to ensure that 60.4% of the staff, both on screen and in the back room shall be of English national identity? If you propose any other proportion then I request, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, the scientific basis on which you propose a different figure. If you do not propose to specify the proportion of people who are English then I request, under the Freedom of Information Act, your justification in failing to properly represent the population.

I note that you have set targets of 8% of on air roles of “LGBGT” people. I therefore formally request, under the Freedom of Information Act, how you arrived at 8%, given that the proportion of the population who are “LGBGT” is significantly smaller than that. Please also, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, confirm that you will reduce the numbers of “LGBGT” people down to 8% and ensure that they have no greater number than their proportion of the population, otherwise you will clearly be failing to properly represent the “non-LGBGT” proportion of the population. I again request your justification for such findings.

Since you propose that 15% of all “lead roles” as well as on “air positions” will have to be taken by “ethnic minorities”, please can you specify exactly which “ethnic minority” takes up which proportion of that 15% and how that figure is calculated, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Please also provide the information which relates to how that 15% is calculated, given that 15% appears to be a larger proportion of the population than is demonstrated in the 2011 Census results. It would appear, prima facie, that you are seeking to have a larger proportion of “ethnic minority” people than the proportion in the population. How are you therefore properly representing the proportions of the population if you choose to have more than 15%? I again request your justification for such findings.

Please also let me have a list of those groups that you are including in your definition of “minority ethnic groups” that will be given this representation and please also specify where this definition has been taken from and why you have excluded other groups from the list.

Please note that in view of the simplicity of the information requested in this Freedom of Information Act request, I am presuming that there will be no charge for making the request. If there is to be a charge please notify me within the next 7 days from the date of this letter.

Further please note that if a deadline of 21 days for producing the information, which I hereby give, is insufficient, then I do require you to notify me within 7 days of the date of this letter.

If the information requested is in a document then I ask for all the information in the document including its formatting data, but would confirm that the provision of a copy of the document will be a sufficient discharge of this data request.

In the absence of such notifications and should I not receive the information requested, I shall forthwith make an Application to the Information Commissioner for an Order against you to order the disclosure of the requested information.

Yours faithfully


Here is the BBC’s response:-


Dear Mr Tilbrook


Freedom of Information Request – RF120160951


Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) received on 5th May 2016, seeking the following information:
 
1. Since 60.4% of the population of England, according to the 2011 Census, identified themselves as being of “English-only” national identity, I ask, whether you propose to ensure that 60.4% of the staff, both on screen and in the back room shall be of English national identity?
 
2. If you propose any other proportion then I request the scientific basis on which you propose a different figure.
 
3. If you do not propose to specify the proportion of people who are English then I request justification in failing to properly represent the population.
 
4. I note that you have set targets of 8% of on air roles of “LGBGT” people. I therefore formally request how you arrived at 8%, given that the proportion of the population who are “LGBGT” is significantly smaller than that.

5. Please also confirm that you will reduce the numbers of “LGBGT” people down to 8% and ensure that they have no greater number than their proportion of the population, otherwise you will clearly be failing to properly represent the “non-LGBGT” proportion of the population. I again request your justification for such findings.

6. Since you propose that 15% of all “lead roles” as well as on “air positions” will have to be taken by “ethnic minorities”, please can you specify exactly which “ethnic minority” takes up which proportion of that 15% and how that figure is calculated.
 
7. Please also provide the information which relates to how that 15% is calculated, given that 15% appears to be a larger proportion of the population than is demonstrated in the 2011 Census results. It would appear, prima facie, that you are seeking to have a larger proportion of “ethnic minority” people than the proportion in the population.

8. How are you therefore properly representing the proportions of the population if you choose to have more than 15%? I again request your justification for such findings.
 
9.  Please also let me have a list of those groups that you are including in your definition of “minority ethnic groups” that will be given this representation and please also specify where this definition has been taken from and why you have excluded other groups from the list.

In response to 1, 2 and 3, the BBC does not currently ask staff to declare national identity. For more detail on what metrics the BBC aims to measure across the workforce see

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/governance/tools_use/diversity_equality.html

In response to 4 and 5, we have based our targets on a combination of governmental statistics alongside intelligence and estimates.


In response to 6 and 7, the BBC currently publishes general figures relating to the ethnicity of its staff as an annual reporting requirement under the BBC Charter and Agreement and in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty. We reflect the ethnicity of our staff under three broad headings: Ethnic Majority staff (White British/English/Scottish/Welsh) Black and Minority Ethnic staff (Black, Mixed, Asian, Chinese, Middle/Near Eastern) and staff from Other White Backgrounds (Irish, Central & Eastern European, Gypsy/Traveller & white staff from other backgrounds). You can see more about this on the BBC Trust’s website:-


http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/governance/tools_we_use/diversity_equality.html


It is not mandatory for staff to inform the BBC of their diversity information. Therefore the figures only relate to records, where the ethnicity is known (currently 98% of the workforce). The figures also excludes local recruits – staff who are recruited and work locally, outside the UK.


The BBC’s Equality Information Report for 2014/2015 can be found at the following address:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/diversity/strategy/equalityreport2015


In response to 8 and 9, we have based our targets on a combination of governmental statistics alongside internal intelligence, estimates and projections.


Please note that, as set out in section 6(1)(b)(ii) of the FOI Act, our subsidies (including BBC Studio & Post Production Ltd, UKTV, BBC Global News Ltd and BBC Worldwide Ltd), as well as the charities BBC Media Action and BBC Children in Need, are not subject to the Act, therefore information for their personnel is not included in the figures quoted above.

I hope this response satisfies your request.

Appeal Rights

If you are not satisfied that we have complied with the Act in responding to your request, you have the right to an internal review by a BBC senior manager or legal advisor. Please contact us at the address above, explaining what you would like us to review and including your reference number. If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can appeal to the Information Commission. The contact details are:- Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 (national rate) or see http://ico.gov.uk/.

Yours sincerely


BBC People



And here is my response:-



Dear Sir


Re: Freedom of Information Request – RF120160951


Thank you for your unsigned letter of the 2nd June 2016 from which it would appear that you have next to no actual data which would enable you to justify a basic breach of principles of equal and fair recruiting, contrary, inter alia, to the Equality Act 2010.


For your information the categories which you describe in which you “reflect the ethnicity” of your staff are not “ethnicities” as recognised by Law. “Ethnicity” is a subset of another group such as the House of Lords found Sikhs were of the wider racial group of the Northern Indians.


Since one of the leading cases on the English as a Racial Group is a case against the BBC, one would, with respect, have thought that the BBC was capable of learning from its previous mistakes and, before undertaking the kind of egregious social engineering project as proposed, would have gone to the trouble of acquiring the requisite data.


For your information ‘White British’ is a legal oxymoron, given that British is anybody who has a British passport. English, Scottish and Welsh are separate National Origin and Racial Origin groups. The idea that “Black, Mixed, Asian, Chinese, Middle/Near Eastern” all represents a single “Ethnic” Group is bizarre. Obviously your “Other White Backgrounds” is equally a miss mash of different peoples. The fact that you quote these would seem to demonstrate that you actually have not done the required groundwork to depart from basic equality law principles in recruitment.


We invite you to correct us if there is any information which supports your proposed course of action?


Yours faithfully


What do you think?