BBC staff earning more than £150k rises despite pledge

The number of senior managers at the BBC earning more than £150,000 is increasing despite a pledge to cut it by 20 per cent, according to Whitehall's spending watchdog.

The National Audit Office found "senior managers now make up more than 1.6 per cent of the payroll," says The Times, with actual numbers rising from 89 to 98, "rather than the one per cent target that the BBC had set itself".

However, says The Sun, the BBC has "simply ditched the target rather than try to enforce it" – something the paper calls a "further insult".

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The NAO, it continues, "found the BBC now believes that it is more relevant to look at the number of senior managers who are paid more than £170,000".

Nevertheless, the report did find that over five years the corporation reduced the cost of its payroll by six per cent in real terms and reduced its senior management payroll spending by £17.1 million.

NAO watchdog head Amyas Morse said the BBC's approach showed "definite progress" and that it was achieving more efficiency with its spending.

But he added: "The scale of the BBC's efficiency agenda in the coming years is considerable and the BBC will need to monitor workforce changes carefully to build on the recent progress it has made."

A BBC spokesman defended the rise, saying: "We've cut the senior manager pay bill significantly, with fewer managers across the organisation. Where some roles now have more responsibilities, that is reflected in people's pay, although salaries remain below market levels."

In 2011, the BBC said it believed it would become a smaller organisation with a net loss of about 2,000 jobs over five years.

But the NAO found the number of posts had fallen by only 847 by 2015-16, with further reductions offset by increases in digital and technological roles.

Trade unions have raised concerns that the broadcaster is cutting news journalists and creative staff while maintaining the number of executives and managers.

Sue Harris, broadcasting organiser for the National Union of Journalists, told The Guardian: the union "has long argued for the layers of management to be cut and resources concentrated on the frontline of programming and news gathering".