THE Covid crisis has proved the BBC’s worth over the past year and its universality has been delivering real benefits for audiences for almost 100 years, according to a senior corporation executive.

Clare Sumner, the BBC’s director of policy, told a Westminster policy conference that too often “we get caught up” on the question of the licence fee.

However, she said the argument was about value and the current funding model delivers for all UK audiences.

“It exists because it’s a sure-fire way to guarantee universal access to the BBC programmes and services to make sure they’re available for everyone,” she said.

“It makes us directly accountable to the whole country because all audiences paid for us. We have to work hard to make sure all audiences get value from us.”

Sumner said the importance of universal public service broadcasting could hardly have been clearer than over the past year: “Everyone has come to us for trusted news and information.

“Everyone has been able to rely on our services for support and advice, for help with home schooling, for much needed companionship and of course, I hope some distraction.”

She contrasted the cost of a TV licence with the subscription packages offered by other media companies, which could cost more than £400 a year, as an illustration of the BBC’s value.

Donald Martin, The Herald editor and Newsquest Scotland editor-in-chief, told the conference that while he saw the BBC as a “tremendous asset” to the nation, it faced major challenges in Scotland.

He said: “First, its significant level of resource, which gives [it] a potentially damaging competitive advantage.

“The falling levels of trust in its coverage in Scotland, and the new Scottish channel, with ... its failure to attract the level of audiences you would expect for such a startling resource.”

With the increasing move towards online news coverage, Martin said the BBC should maintain its online offerings at a national level and stay away from local, which was the preserve of the “very few” smaller titles which relied on providing than information.

He said: “I would also restrict the softer feature content online. That is not news.

“It’s part of the traditional package that newspapers and commercial publishers offer and it’s outside of the core news function of the BBC.”

Martin added: “The basic question is why would people pay for our content when it’s all free with the BBC. How can we compete?”