BBC exceeds senior job and pay cuts target

The BBC has exceeded its target to reduce the pay and headcount of senior executives, as director general Mark Thompson's cost-cutting plan starts to bite.

According to the latest data supplied by the BBC, the corporation cut its total senior management pay bill by almost 27%, while its number of senior managers has fallen by just over 24%.

This outperformed the targets set by the BBC Trust in October 2009, of a 25% cut in executive pay and 20% drop in headcount.

The Trust ordered the BBC to take action on the salaries paid to senior executives in order to cut costs, but also tackle what had become a "toxic" issue for licence fee payers.

The corporation initially had until July 2013 to reach the targets, but this was brought forward to the end of 2011.

Figures released today show that the senior management headcount fell from 640 in August 2009 to 484 in December 31 last year, a fall of 24.38%.

The BBC's senior executive wage bill was reduced from £78.53m to £57.49m at the end of last year, down 26.78%.

"Keeping salary costs under control is hugely important to us," said Lucy Adams, the BBC's director of business operations.

"The reductions we have achieved in this area reflect our commitment to ensuring we are delivering value for money in difficult economic times.

"We will continue to keep a close eye on these costs reducing them still further where we can."

New BBC chariman Lord Patten has recommended a further reduction in senior management headcount so that it constitutes just 1% of the BBC's total workforce by 2015.