BBC puts school website in detention

Auntie acts after complaints from commercial rivals

Matt Chapman, vnunet.com 14 Mar 2007

The BBC is to suspend its online education service from 20 March following complaints from commercial rivals.

The BBC Trust said that BBC Jam will not post any new content until it has investigated complaints made to the European Commission that the service has gone outside its public service remit.

"Despite a rigorous approval process involving the BBC governors, the Department for Culture Media and Sport and the European Commission, resulting in extensive conditions on the service, BBC Jam has continued to attract complaints from the commercial sector about the parameters of its activities," said Chitra Bharucha, acting BBC chairman.

"Recently complaints were made to the European Commission alleging that the service had not complied with its conditions of consent."

BBC management will draw up fresh proposals on how it can deliver its Charter obligation to promote formal education for school-age children.

Once completed, the Trust will subject the proposals to a full Public Value Test, including a market impact assessment by Ofcom.

"Promoting education and learning is one of the BBC's six Public Purposes and a core part of the Corporation's public service remit," Bharucha said.

"A decision on how the BBC delivers this purpose must, under the terms of the Charter, be based on the interests of the public after considering the effect on the market."

See also: