THE UK’s entertainment union is boycotting a government survey on the future of the BBC over concerns that it is “contemptuous” of the broadcaster’s workforce.
Equity, the arts union representing around 50,000 performers and entertainment professionals, is staging the protest against the BBC charter renewal survey, which is being run by the UK Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Deadline first reported.
Concerns centre on an “airbrushing” of the workforce – and plans to use AI to read responses.
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Equity general secretary Paul Fleming said it was more like a "satire" of the process for renewing the BBC charter, which underpins the broadcaster’s existence constitutionally and is due to expire on December 31, 2027.
Fleming told Deadline: “Not only is it restrictive, blinkered, and unfit for purpose in both detail and scope – it is contemptuous of the wide and varied BBC workforce, including directly employed, freelance and commissioned workers.
“Creative workers will be dismayed at the missed opportunity to really delve into the purpose, position and possibilities for the BBC.
“And the fact that responses may be processed using artificial intelligence only adds insult to injury.”
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The UK Government is currently consulting on the terms of the BBC’s charter renewal, seeking “the general public, those working in the creative industries, researchers and industry organisations on a number of issues and options for change”. The consultation closes on March 10, 2026.
A DCMS spokesperson told Deadline: “The BBC belongs to everyone, which is why we are asking people from across the country to be part of the conversation on its future.
“As set out in the green paper, this charter review will, for the first time, consider issues of workplace culture to make sure all staff are properly supported and their voices heard.”
It is not the first time concerns have been raised about the BBC charter review.
After it was announced last year, Tom Chivers, the vice-chair of the Media Reform Coalition, told The National that the review treats the nations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a “generic lump”.
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“The Government’s green paper and public consultation on the BBC is a missed opportunity to give the public a real say on the future of the BBC," he said. "Their tick-box survey is a disappointing muddle of questions and narrow ideas.
“The charter review suggests a troubling lack of interest in the unique views and interests of licence fee payers in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The Government’s terms of reference include only a passing mention of consulting with ‘the devolved administrations’.
“There is no indication that representatives in Holyrood, the Senedd and Stormont will be able to meaningfully shape the UK Government’s decisions on the BBC.
“Worse still, the green paper treats the BBC’s Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish audiences as a generic lump. In the nearly 35,000 words of the Green Paper, Scotland and the nations are mentioned just seven times, and there is no recognition of persistent concerns about the BBC’s accountability to and representation of Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish interests.”
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