BBCPA AGM SUMMARY REPORT 2025
Each year April brings Spring, Easter and the BBCPA AGM. This year was no exception as we gathered in the Sarah Fell room at the Friends House.
Albert Barber, Chairman, welcomed and thanked the audience for attending and also other members who will be watching online via our live stream. The Minutes and Treasurer’s Report of the 2024 Annual General Meeting were adopted and Albert gave his Annual Report and up-date which can be read in the AGM booklet sent to all members or accessed online by logging on to our website. Richard Collings, Treasurer, then gave his report on the Association’s finances. He was happy to report that they were in good shape and the full report is available in the booklet. He warned that our membership has been slowly declining and more members are needed. Richard said that the Association is considering a new category of membership which we would call as Associate Member. The Committee is also considering increasing our subscriptions by £5; it would be the first rise in almost two decades but this will not be done immediately. The increase will most probably be implemented next year. Leslie Huss-Smickler then addressed the audience to discuss the vacancy for a Pensioner Elected Trustee. Leslie has been the pensioners representative on the Board of the Pension Trust for eleven years but as the maximum allowed is twelve years he had decided to step down this year. This election will be towards the end of the year with nomination papers to be sent out soon. Leslie outlined the role and responsibilities of a Trustee and urged people to consider applying and also voting in the election. Leslie then asked the audience for feedback about our Member Offers, in particular Travel Insurance. Leslie also confirmed that our Radio Times subscription offer is £52 for 6 months. The Committee members present were introduced and stood up so the audience could identify them. The Committee stood down and were re-elected by a show of hands. We also have a vacancy for a Committee member, if anyone is interested, please get in touch. James Duberly, Director, Pensions Investments at BBC Pension Trust Ltd. was introduced by Albert. A detailed outline of his presentation will be provided in the Christmas Newsletter. The summary is that our funding position has improved and we are no longer in deficit and the funding strategy is to secure long term cash flows to pay benefits. There followed a Q and A session during which James answered questions from the audience. Tea and biscuits were served during a half-hour interval.
Our keynote speaker John Sergeant took to the stage after the tea break. As expected, his speech was full of amusing anecdotes about his time in the BBC. He began with his time at Oxford University and his association and friendship with Alan Bennet. This led to how he got his job at the BBC because of this friendship. More fascinating and funny tales of his time as a news journalist and reporter at the BBC followed. At the end of his speech John welcomed questions from the audience.
A more detailed report of the AGM will appear in our 2025 Christmas Newsletter or
you can watch the AGM on YouTube by clicking this code https://bit.ly/bbcpastream
