Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value for money for licence fee payers of those BBC journalists paid over £650,000 per year.

The public deserves to know how its licence fee is being spent, which is why the government required the BBC to publish the salary details of all BBC staff and talent paid over £150,000. This was published for the first time as part of the BBC 2016/17 annual report. The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from government, and the amount it pays its staff and talent is a matter for them. It is for licence fee payers to determine whether the BBC is value for money.