The BBC’s £700M ($870M) out-of-London masterplan has been criticized for an “incomplete” assessment process and lack of a “coherent approach”.

The UK National Audit Office (NAO) released its latest report on the Across the UK Masterplan this morning, highlighting a number of flaws while making a number of recommendations. The BBC said it was “disappointed” by the NAO’s “comments”.

The plan was unveiled with fanfare by Director-General Tim Davey three years ago and was one of his first major blueprints. This includes moving £700M more investment out of London by March 2028, with shows, staff and centers relocated out of the capital to better represent and contribute to the UK’s countries and regions.

But, three years later, the NAO said it was “concerned that the BBC was too confident about what it could deliver in the future.”

“It began implementing its program without a clear plan and could not easily explain the expected impacts and benefits to license fee payers,” the report said.

The NAO said there is “little evidence of a consistent approach to delivery, or of effective tracking and measurement”, while it said the BBC’s plans to evaluate success across the UK are “incomplete”.

She added, “The BBC’s plans for Britain as a whole are overly focused on what it does, rather than what impact it wants to achieve.” “The BBC considered the £700 million expenditure on moving it out of London an important measure of the programme’s success, but the BBC gave us no coherent explanation of the impact this commitment would have on license fee payers.”

The NAO, which regularly scrutinises the BBC’s flagship plans, said it is concerned that confidence in the BBC across the UK is “misplaced as it is behind the times in key areas”, areas in which it is struggling. That is, like spending 50%. Its audio production budget outside London until March 2028. The NAO said, “In some key areas the BBC has made slow progress or missed its targets, and explanations of how it will get back on track were not convincing.”

The NAO acknowledged rapid progress in some areas. The BBC initially said it would commission 100 new and returning scripted shows based out of London by March 2028 and reach 110 by March 2023, such as Sherwood, Happy Valley And Dacoit Cited.

The Audit Office made a number of recommendations in its next report to avoid duplication, including that in response to the review the BBC “refreshed its plans” and “set out its strategy to realize the benefits and balance What will he provide during the period “Program.”

To improve transparency, the BBC should include a Breakout Across the UK section in its upcoming annual report and accounts, to be published in the summer.

Responding, Thomas Rathmell, director of Across UK, said he was “disappointed by some of the comments in the committee’s report and looks forward to addressing the issues raised when we provide our written response.”

He said: “We have a very clear plan for how we will transform investment, programming and decision-making across the UK to get closer to audiences, support the country’s diverse creative sectors and develop and nurture new talent. How will we take it forward?”

“Our pioneering program is deliberately ambitious and thoroughly evaluated. “We are incredibly proud of the progress we have made so far and remain focused on achieving our goals of delivering cultural and economic benefits across the UK.”