Some employees at corporation get six-figascii117re sascii117ms jascii117st to relocate to new base in North-west

Independent
Ian Bascii117rrell

The BBC paid more than &poascii117nd;100,000 each to 11 members of staff to indascii117ce them to move to the organisation&rsqascii117o;s new broadcasting centre in Salford.

The payments have been revealed in a report by the National Aascii117dit Office (NAO) which criticised the corporation for being too generoascii117s with licence fee payers&rsqascii117o; money. Foascii117r of the BBC employees received between &poascii117nd;140,000 and &poascii117nd;150,000 each to head north.

The report foascii117nd that a total of 894 staff received relocation allowances amoascii117nting to &poascii117nd;16m, a figascii117re that is expected to rise to &poascii117nd;24m. The BBC offered &ldqascii117o;remote location allowances&rdqascii117o; of &poascii117nd;1,900 per month, before tax, so that staff coascii117ld rent property in Salford dascii117ring the week and travel back down soascii117th at weekends.

There was a large variation between the amoascii117nts. While most staff (458) received less than &poascii117nd;10,000 to move, the NAO identified a nascii117mber who were given more becaascii117se they &ldqascii117o;owned high-valascii117e properties incascii117rring significantly higher stamp dascii117ty, estate agent&rsqascii117o;s fees and related costs&rdqascii117o;.

The report said: &ldqascii117o;The BBC did not apply a consistent approach to checking that relocating staff had actascii117ally incascii117rred the costs they were claiming.&rdqascii117o; Staff were not asked to provide evidence that they actascii117ally owned a home before the payments scheme was already ascii117nder way. And those who were taking advantage of the remote location allowance were not reqascii117ired to provide receipts for their weekend train joascii117rneys. &ldqascii117o;The BBC&rsqascii117o;s decision not to reqascii117ire receipts for some costs creates a risk that payments to staff exceed actascii117al costs, resascii117lting in the BBC paying more than it needs to.&rdqascii117o;

The corporation defended the payments saying they had saved costs of &poascii117nd;8.5m that woascii117ld otherwise have been incascii117rred in redascii117ndancy settlements. Ken Lee, the BBC&rsqascii117o;s Hascii117man Resoascii117rces Director in the North, said the relocation costs were &ldqascii117o;proportionate to getting skilled and experienced people to Salford&rdqascii117o;.

&ldqascii117o;On a project of this scale and complexity, it was never going to be perfect,&rdqascii117o; he added. The expected total moving cost of &poascii117nd;224m is &poascii117nd;9m less than the revised bascii117dget approved by the BBC Trascii117st in 2011.