Culture Secretary says she is prepared to take action on ‘cultures of silence’
Lisa Nandy addressed recent questions of behaviour, including around MasterChef host Gregg Wallace, in a Culture, Media and Sport Committee meeting.
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Your support makes all the difference.Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said she is “prepared to take further action” if the creative industries cannot address “cultures of silence and issues being swept under the rug” in relation to claims of misconduct.
Appearing before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Tuesday, Ms Nandy spoke about recent questions of behaviour, including those around MasterChef host Gregg Wallace, who has stepped back from the hit cooking show as production company Banijay UK investigates allegations of misconduct.
She said: “Having spoken with the BBC in recent weeks about the Gregg Wallace allegations, I am really clear that we’re seeing too many of these cultures of silence and issues being swept under the rug.
“People who cannot advance through the current complaints system because it would have an impact on their career, potentially ending their career.
“And I am clear that people need to be heard, action has to be taken and perpetrators have to be held to account.”
Ms Nandy said that she is meeting the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) on Wednesday, an independent body tackling bullying and harassment in the sector.
She added: “They think, and I instinctively think, that it is better if the industry grips this, but if they don’t I will be prepared to take further action.”
The BBC has previously said it will not “tolerate behaviour that falls below the standards we expect” and will continue to champion “a culture that is kind, inclusive and respectful”.
In the message sent to staff by the corporation’s director-general, Tim Davie, and Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, on Friday, they also said that they would be supporting Banijay UK, the producers of MasterChef, in their investigation.
Last week Wallace apologised for claiming complaints about his behaviour came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”, adding he will “take some time out”.
His lawyers have previously strongly denied “he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, according to BBC News.
Asked what the Government is doing to support creatives in precarious positions, Ms Nandy acknowledged the industry uses a lot of freelancers, and said there is an “enormous massive power imbalance” between those who run the industries and the people who work in them.
The minister said that through the Department for Business and Trade they were looking at workers’ pay and issues like unpaid internships, on which they said they are intending to consult, and she would be addressing the concerns with CIISA.
After a number of high profile cases with the BBC, and other non-departmental public bodies, including the British Museum and British Library, Ms Nandy said she had had a “full briefing” on the risks that exist and has had meetings with these institutions to ensure they are “gripping” the issues.
Ms Nandy also outlined that the department runs a “risk register” so they can see what risks currently exist and can put in place “mitigation measures”.
It was disclosed last year that thousands of British Museum collection artefacts were missing, stolen or damaged, and the British Library experienced a cyber attack which led to a leak of employee data.
Asked if the British Museum would address the country’s part in the transatlantic slave trade, the minister described it as one of Britain’s “most valuable institutions” which she believes “handles difficult issues, including the light and dark in our past, in a very thoughtful way”.
She said she could take the particular point on addressing slavery away and would have a look at it.
Later in the meeting, the culture secretary discussed their review into the BBC funding model, saying that she decided to disband the work that was previously being done, particularly by the last government, and would roll it into a charter review, which they were planning to start in the new year.
The annual licence fee, which funds much of the broadcaster’s operations, faced years of scrutiny under the Conservative government.
It was frozen for two years at £159 before it was increased at a lower rate than the corporation expected.
Last month the Government announced that the fee will increase in line with inflation each year until 2027, rising in April to £174.50.
Asked if she was thinking about reforming the licence fee rather than replacing it, she said: “No options are off the table, both in terms of the BBC operational structure and funding models.”
She added: “We’re not in the business of reform for reform’s sake, but I think, in the early discussions I’ve had with the BBC, it’s clear there are limits on the amount of money that the BBC can raise from commercial sources, particularly with its obligations as a public service broadcaster, which we believe are incredibly important.”