The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed it’s launching a “Mid-Term Review” of the BBC to assess whether the broadcaster needs reforming to “achieve greater impartiality” and hire more people from working class backgrounds. The review will take place at some point before 2024, and will analyse “the effectiveness of the BBC’s governance mechanisms… in ensuring compliance with its editorial standards including impartiality requirements”. Given how often their highest-paid stars flout those requirements, there’s plenty of work to be done…

Announcing the move this morning, Nadine Dorries says:

“The BBC is a world-class broadcaster but one which has to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape just like all broadcasters are. The Government is committed to ensuring the BBC is more impartial, more accessible and more reflective of our country’s variety of viewpoints. This review will build on our recent progress to make the BBC more accountable to those who fund it, level up people’s access to the job opportunities it offers and ensure it continues to work in the best interest of the public.”

There is also a review of the licence fee coming down the track “soon”…