Despite enforcing huge cutbacks on programme budgets and axing thousands of lower paid jobs, top managers at the BBC have cut their expenses by just 9%.
In the face of a less than generous licence fee settlement budgets are being slashed by 20% with valued services such as local radio being dramatically scaled back.
Meanwhile the BBC has signalled it may bid for less sports and share more rights packages with rivals.
However the upper echelons at the BBC continue to claim for lunches, minicabs, hotel rooms and even, in the case of Director-General Mark Thompson, BAFTA membership fees.
Thompson’s £415.00 bill for his BAFTA membership is equal to almost three colour Licence Fees which cost £145.50 per year.
Due to leave the BBC later this year, Thompson’s earns £613,000 per year.
BBC One controller Danny Cohen spent £133.13 and £113.96 on “external hospitality” to discuss projects for the channel.
George Entwistle, Director, Vision spent £309.01 on “Dinner following BAFTA screening of The Killing II”. He also charged licence fee payers £40.50 for “Wine purchased at table for WFTV Awards”.
BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow spent over £100 on hospitality on six separate occasions while BBC Three controller Zai Bennett spent £600 on hospitality for 6 people for “Exceptional performance in comedy”.
The sums spent were revealed when the BBC published the expenses, central bookings and Gifts and Hospitality Register for its most senior managers for Q3 – October to December 2011.
The full expenses for all BBC managers earning over 150k can be found on their profile pages at bbc.co.uk.
A BBC spokesperson said: “Our expenses are down 9% year on year. There will always be costs associated with running a large media organisation with bases across the UK and abroad, but we are mindful we are spending public money and will continue to work hard to keep expenditure to a minimum.”