Freedom of Information - FOI

Robert Halfon, in an article on this morning's Conservative Home website, reminds us that the FOI Act doesn't apply to the BBC, despite its size and place of influence, and despite the fact that most of us pay a tax/licence every year. If I knew about the FOI, I had forgotten.

He points out that some presenters are arguably overpaid, - Jonathan Ross for example, and some executives earn more than the prime minister.

He tells us that the BBC last year spent £15 million on taxi bills, and £14 million on plane flights. These may be quite legitimate and understandable, given the national and world coverage of the BBC, but we just do not know.

We own it, we elect MPs who authorise its revenue, but we have little information and even less control over what it does.

I must declare a grievance here, from the regular bias I notice myself and which sites like Biased BBC, Dizzy Speaks and Notasheep bring to our attention. The reward for the BBC was seen in the way that yesterday the LibDims and NuLabour loyally voted for their mouthpiece in rejecting the proposal to freeze, not reduce, the licence fee.

The Corporation is so large and spends so much of our money, we ought to demand to know more and have the occasional vote on it. Come on the Daily Telegraph, could you help with the former?!