FOI Response

Paul Eaton
By email: paul_geaton@hotmail.com
23 October 2009
Dear Mr Eaton,
Freedom of information request – RFI20091332
Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”) dated 20th
September, repeated below. Please accept our apologies for not meeting the 20 working days
deadline for this response.
For ease, I have broken your request into five parts and will respond to each in turn:
PART 1:
“I would like you to send me electronic copies of all reports and papers published by the BBC on
the subject of High Definition Television, since that published in Nov 06 regarding the HD Trial…”
All relevant reports and papers which have been published by the BBC are available online:
The minutes of the Executive Board meeting in June 2009 are available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/running/executive/index.shtml
The following papers have been published by the BBC Trust and are available via the BBC Trust’s
website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust
The following are all the papers relating to HD during the period:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/hdtv/pvt_application.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/hdtv/quantitative_research.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/hdtv/deliberative_research.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/hdtv/panel_survey.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/hdtv/wave1.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/hdtv/wave2.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/hdtv/wave3.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/hdtv/wave4.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/hdtv/preliminary_mia.pdf
BBC submission to Ofcom on the choice of the UK transmission mode for high-power Multiplex B
using DVB-T2 modulation:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/digital/hd_on_dtt/T2ModeDecision/
BBC R&D papers are freely available on the R&D website, which goes back to 2001:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp
PART 2:
“…and including the Paper on the subject presented to the Executive Board in Mar 09.”
Please find this attached as “Disclosure 1”.
You will note that some information has been redacted from the Paper; this is because we
consider the information to be exempt under sections 42 (legal privilege) and 43(2) (commercial
prejudice) of the Act. Please see Appendix 1 for a detailed explanation of why we are withholding
this information.
PART 3:
Further, I would like e-copies of all email traffic dated Jul to Sep 09 sent between BBC HD
Department personnel and the Company supplying the new transmission encoders for BBC HD,
which were introduced into operations on Wednesday 5th Aug 09.
Please find attached, as “Disclosure 2”, email traffic dated July to September 2009 sent between
BBC HD Department personnel and the Company supplying the new transmission encoders for
BBC HD.
Where information, such as direct contact details, has been redacted this has been done under
section 40(2) of the Act. Personal information about living individuals is exempt if disclosure to a
third party would breach one or more principles of the Data Protection Act 1998. As the
individuals involved do not expect their details to be disclosed, to do so would be unfair;
therefore, disclosure would breach the First Data Protection Principle, fairness.
PART 4:
Finally, I would also like e-copies of all internal BBC email traffic between Head of Technology for
BBC HD, Andy Quested and Head of BBC HD, Danielle Nagler, sent during the months of Jul to
Sep 09,
This request was clarified to limit the email traffic to those:
…. containing information regarding: BBC HD transmission bit-rates, encoders, channel PQ, Ofcom
or BBC Executive or Trust directives, HD channel funding, Freesat bandwidth restictions, the BBC
Blogs, HD channel PR or messaging (lines to take) and, most particularly, my complaint about PQ,
sent to Danielle, and her response to it.
Please find attached, as “Disclosure 3”, emails between Andy Quested and Danielle Nagler
between July – September 2009 containing information regarding: BBC HD transmission bitrates,
encoders, channel PQ, Ofcom or BBC Executive or Trust directives, HD channel funding,
Freesat bandwidth restrictions, the BBC Blogs, HD channel PR or messaging (lines to take). The
last part of your request, for emails regarding your complaint, will be dealt with under Part 5
below.
Again, where information has been redacted this has been withheld under s40(2) of the Act, for
the same reasons given in Part 3 above.
PART 5:
I would also like e-copies... containing information regarding: … my complaint about PQ, sent to
Danielle, and her response to it.
Unfortunately, we are unable to process this part of your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 as section 40 exempts the personal data of individuals when they seek
access to their own information. However, you have a right of access to your personal data under
section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (‘the DPA’).
Before we can process your request under the DPA, please:
1. Print, complete and sign the attached application form
2. Send us copies of two pieces of identification -a copy of passport or photocard driving
licence and a copy of bank statement or utility bill dated within the last 3 months; this is to
ensure that we are only passing personal data on to the subject of that data and not to
third parties
3. Send a cheque or postal order payable to the British Broadcasting Corporation for £10
(cash is not accepted).
Please send the completed application form along with your proof of ID and the £10 fee to the
following address:
Data Protection Officer
Information Policy and Compliance
Room 2252, White City
201 Wood Lane
London
W12 7TS
You will receive a response within 40 days of the date that we receive the above items as required
by the DPA.
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied with this response you have the right to an internal review by a BBC senior
manager or legal adviser. 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 Commissioner. The contact details are: Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone
01625 545 700 or see http://www.ico.gov.uk/
Yours sincerely
Lynne Connolly
Cross Genre Project Manager
BBC Vision
Appendix 1
Section 42
The draft letter which was appended to the Executive Board paper formed part of legal advice
provided by a BBC regulatory lawyer. We consider this to be legally privileged information and we
are therefore withholding it under section 42 of the Act.
As section 42 is a qualified exemption, the BBC has to balance the public interest in disclosing the
legal advice against the public interest in maintaining the exemption. In favour of releasing the
information:
• The BBC accepts that there is a public interest in the BBC being accountable for the
decisions it makes with respect to matters which relate to the distribution of BBC
programmes.
• The BBC also accepts that releasing the information would help ensure that the public is
fully aware of the processes that are undertaken in order to provide the BBC’s HD
service.
In favour of withholding the information:
• The seeking of legal advice by all persons in order to enable them to order their affairs in a
lawful manner is strongly in the public interest. That public interest is perhaps at its
strongest where the client seeking and receiving legal advice is a public body or quasi-public
body whose decisions have the potential to affect large numbers of people. In order for the
seeking of advice to take place and for the advice given to be valuable, it is crucial that the
seeking and giving of such advice be carried out with absolute candour. This requires that
clients be secure in the knowledge that the information that passes between them and
their lawyers in the course of seeking and giving legal advice will be free from scrutiny by
outsiders. As the Information Tribunal recognised in Bellamy v Information Commissioner
EA/2005/0023:
“There is a strong element of public interest inbuilt into the privilege itself. At least equally
strong countervailing considerations would need to be adduced to override that inbuilt
public interest.”
On balance, the BBC believes that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the
public interest in releasing the information.
Section 43(2):
We are withholding information under section 43(2) because disclosure would be likely to
prejudice the commercial interests of both the BBC and various third parties by:
• Prejudicing the negotiating position of the BBC in ongoing contractual negotiations
between the BBC and other public service broadcaster’s for the future development of HD
services on the DTT platform.
• Weaken the BBC’s bargaining position with suppliers of goods and services; in relation to
producing HD content;
• Weaken the BBC’s and other public service broadcaster’s position in a competitive
environment by revealing market-sensitive information or information of potential
usefulness to competitors of DTT.
As section 43 is a qualified exemption, in accordance with section 2(2) of the Act, we have
considered the public interest factors in this case. Specifically, whether in all the circumstances of
the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in
disclosing the information.
In favour of disclosure, we recognised that there is a public interest in the following:
• that there is transparency in the accountability of the BBC for public funds;
• that the BBC is using public money effectively, and that the BBC is getting value for money
when purchasing goods and services;
• that the BBC’s commercial activities (including the procurement process) are conducted in
an open and honest way; and
• that business can respond better to opportunities with the BBC.
On the other hand, in considering factors that might weigh in favour of the public interest in
withholding, we took into account:
• That companies, or individuals provide the BBC with commercially sensitive information,
so that the BBC is able to make robust decisions regarding its suppliers of goods and
services, including ensuring that the BBC obtains the best value for money from each
transaction;
• That the BBC maintains a strong bargaining position vis-à-vis suppliers during contractual
negotiations in order to ensure that the licence fee is spent effectively;
• That the competitive position of companies in their particular market is not disadvantaged
by doing business with the BBC. It would not be in the public interest to disclose sensitive
information about a particular company if that information would be likely to be used by
competitors to gain a competitive advantage.
There is information in the public domain regarding the development of HD services on the DTT
platform, links to which were provided to you in Part 1.
I am satisfied, in terms of section 2 of the Act, that in all the circumstances of this case, the public
interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.