Part 3: Public service broadcasters Chapter 1: C4C Section 29: Sustainability duty of C4C
This section amends the Broadcasting Act 1990 to insert a new section 23A after section 23 (which provides for the establishment of C4C). New section 23A places a duty on C4C (which consists of a chair, a deputy chair and other members (section 23(2) of the Broadcasting Act 1990), to carry out all of C4C’s activities in the way that they consider most likely to enable it to maintain or increase the amount of activity that is done in pursuance of their primary functions, and to securely meet the costs of carrying out its primary functions. This is designed to ensure C4C meets its costs on an on-going basis, and manages the costs well so that it can at least sustain, and aim to grow, the amount of activity done in pursuance of its primary functions. The amount of such activity is an aggregate amount i.e. activity may decrease in one area, so long as it increases in another so that the overall amount is either maintained or increased. C4C’s ‘activities’ are activities that C4C consider to be appropriate for carrying on its primary functions, or are connected, otherwise than merely in financial terms, with activities undertaken by them for the carrying out of those functions (section 199(1) of the Communications Act 2003). C4C’s primary functions are: securing the continued provision of the Channel 4 service, the fulfilment of Channel 4’s public service remit and C4C’s performance of its media content duties (section 199(2) of the Communications Act 2003).
	The duty is conceived from the directors’ duty in section 172 of the Companies Act 2006, which places a duty on company directors to (amongst other things) ‘promote the success of the company….and in doing so have regard (amongst other matters) to the likely consequences of any decision in the long term’. The changes in wording reflect C4C’s status as a statutory corporation, as opposed to a Companies Act limited company.
	Subsection (3) amends Schedule 3, paragraph 13 of the Broadcasting Act 1990, which addresses C4C’s annual reports. Subsection (3) details that the annual report must include a report on C4C’s discharge of the sustainability duty under this section. The annual report is to be laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State.