Our vision for a revitalised BBC

As the government reviews the future of the BBC, Equity has some radical ideas on how to revitalise this foundational civic institution.  

Our vision is for a genuinely public broadcaster, which is accountable to the millions of people across the UK who fund it, as well as the thousands of workers who create its value.  

The ongoing Charter review is an exceptional opportunity to refound the BBC as an arm of the welfare state, in which arts and culture are enshrined as an essential public service — alongside health, education, housing and social security. Under the principle of universality, everyone has access to the same BBC services, regardless of their wealth or status. 

BBC investment and work opportunities must be spread fairly across the nations and regions, enabling people to build a lifelong career in arts and entertainment, regardless of where they are from. 

BBC Royal Charter review

Background

On 16 December 2025, the government published a Green Paper that launched the review of the BBC’s Royal Charter. 

The Royal Charter is the constitutional basis for the BBC, and is reviewed approximately every 10 years. It sets out the BBC’s objectives and purposes, as well as how it is governed and regulated. The current charter runs until 31 December 2027.

Equity's response

Equity boycotted the survey linked to the Green Paper as we believe it to be flawed. But we are engaging with the government’s consultation on our own terms. 

In our formal submission to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), we proposed a refounding of the BBC by means of democratisation, regionalistation and cooperativisation. 

We also submitted a response to the Culture Committee’s inquiry on the future of the BBC. We underlined that one of the corporation’s overarching public purposes must be to create art and entertainment, and that it must strictly adhere to the principles we outlined in our AI Vision Statement. 

Letter to the culture secretary

In January 2026, unions representing the BBC's workforce - including Equity - wrote to the Culture Secretary after the DCMS opened its public consultation on the BBC's Royal Charter renewal.

The unions emphasised the Charter Renewal as representing "an invaluable opportunity to address issues relating to [the BBC's] funding, governance and editorial standards", before going on to highlight the fundamental principles that should underpin the Charter. 

The unions - comprising Equity, Bectu, NUJ, Writers' Guild of Great Britain, and the Musicians' Union - sent the letter under the banner of the Broadcasting, Entertainment and Arts Unions (BEAU) group.