TESSA JOWELL ANNOUNCES THREE BBC TRUST MEMBERS

TESSA JOWELL ANNOUNCES THREE BBC TRUST MEMBERS

London, 12 APRIL/GNN/ --

DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT News Release (051/06) issued by The
Government News Network on 12 April 2006
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell, announced
today plans to ensure the new BBC Trust has the right balance of change and
continuity by appointing three BBC governors to the new body.

In line with commitments in the BBC white paper, published last month, to
provide the continuity necessary for the Trust to operate effectively from
the start, Dermot Gleeson, Richard Tait and Jeremy Peat will join the chair,
Michael Grade, on the Trust.

The Trust will have 12 members in total, including its chair and a new
vice-chair.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will advertise shortly for eight
new trustees, including the vice-chair.

Ms Jowell said:

"The new BBC Trust will put the people who pay for the BBC at the heart of
decisions on how the licence fee is spent. There will be, for the first time,
a clear separation between those who run the BBC and those who ensure it is
run in the public interest.

"We now need to achieve the right balance of change and continuity. This
can be achieved by appointing a small number of BBC governors to the Trust,
plus the appointment of eight new trust members to reflect the fact that
the Trust is a new structure with new functions, designed to deliver a step
change in accountability to the licence fee payer.

"Dermot Gleeson, Richard Tait and Jeremy Peat will help the transition
from Governors to Trust, by bringing their valuable skills and expertise to
current key areas of BBC business including property, broadcasting and finance.

"The current Board of Governors has worked hard to ensure, on behalf of
licence fee payers, that the BBC delivers high quality services, in line
with its current Charter remit. I know that the governors are committed to
a smooth transition to the new governance system and will continue to work
with the chair to this end until the new Trust is in place later this year.
I am very grateful to them all for their contribution to this process."

Source: DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

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