Ofcom's oversight of the BBC will extend to articles on news websites under reforms to boost confidence in impartiality | Politics news

Ofcom's oversight of the BBC will be expanded as part of reforms aimed at strengthening confidence in the corporation's impartiality.

Communications guardwhich regulates TV, radio and video-on-demand services, will be given new powers to monitor the BBC's online public services, including the BBC News website and YouTube channel.

The measure was put forward during the first interim review of the BBC's 11-year-old Royal Charter, which forms the constitutional basis of the broadcaster and outlines its public purpose.

The review aims to examine and assess how effectively the BBC's governance and regulatory arrangements are working halfway through the current system, which began in 2017.

The government said its recommendations were expected to be implemented “in due course” following talks with the BBC and Ofcom.

Ofcom currently regulates the BBC's TV, radio and on-demand broadcasts, but not other elements of online content.

The government said the oversight should extend to digital services so the regulator could hold the BBC to account “in a more robust way”.

This could lead to Ofcom being given the power to take enforcement action against articles on the BBC News website that it believes do not meet appropriate broadcasting standards.

If a broadcaster breaks the rules repeatedly or in a way that is considered serious, Ofcom has legal powers to impose sanctions, such as a fine.

The watchdog has also been given new legally binding responsibility to review more of the BBC's complaints decisions.

At the same time, the BBC Board has a duty to actively monitor its own complaints process.

“Impartiality is a constant challenge for viewers”

The council was previously only responsible for setting up the complaints process, but the change will give it “responsibility for overseeing how the process works in practice”, the government said.

The interim review concluded that the current complaints process, called BBC First, does allow license fee payers to hold the corporation directly accountable, but impartiality remains a challenge for viewers.

The changes are designed to “enhance the independent review of complaints and improve the experience of viewers who make a complaint”.

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The review also recommends that the BBC consider how best to represent diversity and thought.

The government said some audience groups, including viewers with disabilities and people from low socio-economic backgrounds, felt under-represented by the corporation.

Culture Secretary Lucy Fraser said the BBC “must adapt” to the reforms or risk “losing the trust of the audience it relies on”.

“The Government wants to see a strong, independent BBC that can thrive in the years ahead as a major contributor to the nation's successful creative industries,” she said.

“Following constructive discussions with the BBC and Ofcom, we have recommended reforms which I believe will improve accountability while strengthening public confidence in the BBC's ability to be impartial and responsive to the concerns raised by license fee payers.”

A BBC spokesman said “no other organization takes its commitment to impartiality more seriously”.

They added: “During the mid-term review deliberations, we proposed and implemented a number of reforms, including strengthening our complaints procedures, which now form part of the findings. We are pleased that the government has fully accepted our proposals. We remain committed to continuous improvement to to ensure that we provide services to all license fee payers.'

The BBC's impartiality has come under scrutiny in the past year following a series of high-profile incidents.

There was outrage when Match of the Day host Gary Lineker was on was briefly taken off the air after tweeting about the state's asylum policy, forcing the campaign to change the rules for using social networks.

The company also faced an impartiality controversy after it emerged that former chairman Richard Sharpe, who has since resignedbroke the rules by not disclosing the role he played in helping Boris Johnson get an £800,000 loan.