THE COUNCIL OF MANAGEMENT

In order to preserve its independence, the BBFC’s income is derived solely from the fees it charges for its services, calculated by measuring the running time of films or DVD works submitted for classification. The BBFC is not organised for profit, and its fees are adjusted only as required to cover its costs. The tariff must be approved by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The BBFC’s financial affairs are administered by the Council of Management, whose representatives come from the manufacturing and servicing sections of the film industry. Council of Management members are excluded from classification decisions and policy making. There must be no actual or perceived conflict of interest, while at the same time members have to command the confidence of our customers. The Council of Management is also responsible for senior appointments at the BBFC.

PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENTS

The BBFC has one President and two Vice Presidents. They are designated with statutory responsibility for the classification of video/DVDs under the Video Recordings Act 1984. The President and Vice Presidents are consulted in the case of difficult or controversial works that raise particular questions of policy. They are appointed by the Council of Management.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

DIRECTOR

The Director is delegated to make executive decisions on behalf of the Presidential tier. He is responsible for formulating and ensuring the execution of policy, management of the BBFC and handling external relations with the industry, the public and relevant bodies.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT

The senior management team can make executive decisions in the Director’s absence.

Head of Operations

Responsible for internal business operations.

Head of Communications

Responsible for all aspects of communication with the media, the public and customers. Responsible for the education work of the BBFC.

Head of Technology

Responsible for the delivery, enhancement and support of Information Systems. Manages all aspects of the BBFC site at Bracknell (which handles the BBFC’s digital archiving project).

Head of Finance and Personnel

Ensures proper financial controls and reporting are in place. Responsible for staff welfare, recruitment and related areas.

SENIOR EXAMINERS

Senior Examiners are responsible for making decisions on the classification of works and on any cuts required on the basis of Examiners’ reports, policy, Guidelines and precedents. They are responsible for referring any works to the Director that raise difficult or novel policy issues. Senior Examiners also undertake advice viewings, answer enquiries from distributors and lead a team of Examiners.

EXAMINERS

Examiners view the submitted works, write detailed reports and recommend a category decision, cuts or other actions. They also do internal policy work, draft responses to letters from the public and give talks about classification at educational institutions, film festivals and other events. Examiners are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds including social work, teaching, journalism, research, law and marketing.

These departments all play a crucial role in the classification process at the BBFC:

• Information Services
• Technical / Archive
• Information Systems
• Accounts
• Facilities

Submitted films and DVDs are logged at reception by the Facilities department. The Information Services department carries out any research that is required for a work, then the Technical department measures the DVD and checks the quality of the disc. The Projectionists measure films during the actual viewing process. The Information Systems department researches and measures video game submissions. This department is also responsible for the internal information systems as well as the main website.

The Accounts department requests payment from the distributor, after which the Information Services department programmes the work for viewing by Examiners. A daily schedule or timetable is created on the BBFC’s computer system that lists all the films and DVDs waiting to be examined. Information Services also handle all customer queries and ensure that they are informed of our classification decisions.

The Archive department maintains an archive of every single video and DVD work that has been submitted to the Board, as this is a legal requirement. We are currently in the process of converting all our archived videos and DVDs to digital format in order to preserve the archive.

Other departments that contribute to the day to day running of the Board are:

The Press & Communications department handles all media related enquiries as well as being responsible for all BBFC publications and promotional activities.

The Education Team run seminars and carry out visits to schools and FE and HE institutions as well as providing information and resources about classification and film & video/DVD regulation for students and teachers. In addition they manage the Board’s three educational websites – cbbfc.co.uk, sbbfc.co.uk and pbbfc.co.uk.

The Personnel department  is responsible for staff welfare, recruitment and related areas.

The Facilities department looks after the running of the BBFC’s buildings and services.

ASSOCIATED BODIES:

THE CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL

The Consultative Council is an advisory forum whose members come from UK Local Authority Associations, the screen entertainment industry and other experts in relevant areas. It is chaired by the President of the BBFC or one of the two Vice-Presidents.

THE ADVISORY PANEL ON CHILDREN’S VIEWING

The APCV was set up by the BBFC to provide advice on issues relating to the classification of works for children. The panel is made up of members with a range of relevant professional expertise and responsibilities.

THE VIDEO PACKAGING REVIEW COMMITTEE (VPRC)

Introduced in 1987, this committee is administered by the BBFC, but attended by industry representatives. It is a voluntary system to prevent offence to members of the public caused by explicitly violent or sexual imagery on the covers of videos/DVDs. Cinema posters, only for films passed ‘18’, are also reviewed by a joint BBFC / industry body.