BBC Statements of Programme Policy 2006/2007

Last week the BBC published its Statements of Programme Policy 2006/2007.

Under the Accountability heading we read: "The BBC, as an open and transparent organisation which is trusted by the public it serves, seeks to engage its audiences in dialogue, to learn from them and to respond honestly to what they have to say."

So I was also interested to see that "All newly submitted programme proposals have a diversity statement attached highlighting how, where appropriate, the programme will fulfil the BBC’s commitment to reflecting the diversity of the licence fee paying public, both on and off screen. We will continue to assess how effectively this enables us to deliver against our pledge."

But someone had pointed out to me that sexual orientation, unlike race, religion, age, sex and other diversity strands was not mentioned anywhere in the 106 page document. I wanted to know if the 'diversity statement' should equally take account of sexual orientation.

With the section on BBC accountability fresh in mind, but also mindful of Stonewall's Tuned Out report and also my own concerns about Newsround as detailed in this blog, I emailed the BBC on 3 May 2006 to see if they can confirm that the diversity statement does indeed refer to sexual orientation as well as the other forms of diversity listed in the BBC document.