‘BBC has high dependency on Tory government for statistics’

The BBC has a “high dependency” on the governing party for statistics, with Conservatives representing nearly three-quarters of all statistics it cites from politicians, according to a report by the corporation’s governing body.

A BBC Trust report investigating the impartiality of the way the BBC cites statistics also said that the corporation’s journalism needed to do more to “go beyond the headlines” and be more wary of reporting figures “straight from a press release”.

The wide-ranging 84-page report, Making Sense of Statistics, used the Cardiff School of Journalism to conduct an in-depth study of mentions of statistics on the BBC, including looking at specific issues such as migration, health and the junior doctors’ strike. It did not cover the period of the EU referendum.

The report found that in general the BBC relies heavily on politicians in general for citing statistics, accounting for 21% of all sources of figures in the period examined by Cardiff University.

“The content analysis demonstrates that there is an especially high number of political figures providing statistical information on BBC [output],” said the report. “And Conservative politicians represented nearly three-quarters (73%) of these statistical references.”

The report cites Cardiff University as concluding that the BBC shows a “high dependency on the governing party” for statistics.

“It is reasonable to expect the BBC to cover statements which the UK or devolved governments make,” said the report, which was led by the former head of the Government Statistical Service, Dame Jil Matheson.

“However, as Cardiff’s content analysis points out, it does make it vital that those statements are challenged where necessary so that the impartiality of the BBC’s coverage of political affairs is not affected.”

While overall the report said that the BBC’s reporting of statistics was “commendable”, it found that journalists and editors needed to do more in some cases.

For example, the BBC covered the fact that nearly 3,000 operations had been cancelled when junior doctors in England took part in a 24-hour strike over pay and conditions.

“Early reporting by the BBC sometimes included scant context around this statistic,” the report said.

It was not until much later in its coverage that the BBC started to qualify the statistic adding that 92% of operations would actually go ahead.

The report said that while some early coverage had included the statistic, such as BBC Breakfast, even then it was “well over an hour into the programme and on the fourth mention of the strike” before any references to how many operations had gone ahead was included.

“Stories do of course evolve,” the report said. “But such additional information could, and should, have been included in broadcasts throughout the day.”

Another example cited was a statement made by David Cameron in November claiming that 43% of EU migrants claimed benefits in their first four years of being in the UK.

The report said that “reservations” had been expressed about the methodology behind the figure before it was used by the PM. However, the Cardiff University analysis found “many instances” of it being quoted by government sources in BBC content without challenge on “any fundamental level” by journalists.

This included a failure to challenge cabinet minister Michael Fallon when he used the statistic in a Radio 5 Live studio interview.

“Overall I have been impressed by the BBC’s commitment to helping audiences understand the world we live in, and helping them navigate through complex data and statistics,” said Matheson.

“The public trusts the BBC to do it well, and we found that they often do a very good job – but it is frustrating they don’t do this consistently. To make that happen, BBC journalists need the confidence and skills to go beyond headlines, and to challenge misleading claims.”

James Harding, the director of BBC news and current affairs, said: “Dame Jil’s hugely valuable report makes clear we’re the best at reporting statistics, but we’ve got work to do. More than ever, people look to us at the BBC to check the facts and put the numbers in context.

“Reality Check, the team set up to assess political claims and assertions during the general election and the Scottish and EU referendums, will now become a permanent part of the BBC newsroom.

“The team will give programmes and presenters regular analysis to ensure that misleading use of statistics continues to be forcefully challenged on air. And we are establishing a new reporting hub that aims to lead the way in data journalism.”