CAB129-52 — Page 26

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Page 26

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picture or an object accom

Service. The 86wer/respeedying a spoken announcement

other matter would get in the Television

to periods of emergency. The power of the Government, if they should prohibit any broadcast, to prohibit also any announcement that a veto has been imposed will be revised, so as to leave it to the discretion of the Governors of the Corporation whether or not to announce that a veto has been imposed.

GOVERNORS OF THE CORPORATION

17. The Government agree with the Broadcasting Committee that the position of the Governors should be defined only by the Charter; the "Whitley Document," in which their duties and responsibilities have been defined, will accordingly disappear. Within the framework of the Charter the Governors collectively will have unrestricted authority and power of decision, though the Chairman should have the recognised right of making emergency decisions, subject to report to the Board.

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18. Hitherto the Governors have been appointed and have been liable to be removed by Order in Council, the Crown having in practice been advised in these matters by the Government of the day. The Broadcasting Committee did not recommend any change in the method of appointing the Board, but the Government consider it to be desirable that the appointment or removal of the Governors should be taken as far as possible from the political arena as a safeguard against any risk that the Corporation might be subordinated to political ends. The Government accordingly propose to recommend for Her Majesty's gracious consideration that the Governors should no longer be appointed and be removable by Order in Council but that the new Charter should provide that these powers should be devolved to a Committee consisting of the holders for the time being of the following Offices, provided they are willing to serve in this capacity:-

The Speaker of the House of Commons, who would be the Chairman; The Prime Minister;

The Leader of the Opposition;

The Lord Chief Justice of England;

The Lord President of the Court of Session.

19. In consequence of the proposals regarding broadcasting councils (see paragraph 22 below) the size of the Board will be increased from seven to nine to include "national" Governors in close touch with opinion in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Government think that it would materially assist their representative function if the Governors were to meet periodically in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the Charter will provide accordingly. In other respects the Charter will maintain the present freedom of the Governors to conduct their business. The Governors will as now be free to appoint committees for any purpose, subject to ratification by the Corporation as a whole of any conclusion of a committee. Provision will be made to permit the committees to include persons who are not members of the Corporation. The Government consider that the executive responsibility for day to day management of the Corporation should rest with the Director General; they propose, therefore, to continue the reference in the Charter to this office. To meet the possibility that the Governors might wish at some time to have more than one Director General (for example, during the war there were Joint Directors General) the Charter will be in terms which would permit this and, if the Governors so decide, one or more Assistant Directors General.

20. The Government agree that Governors should be required to give only part of their time to the Corporation and that the Chairman should