Baroness Rawlings
Main Page: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Rawlings's debates with the Leader of the House
(4 days, 17 hours ago)
Lords ChamberTo ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have for the BBC World Service in the long term.
My Lords, the Government highly value the BBC World Service and its contribution to our international objectives. We increased our contribution for this year. Decisions on the World Service funding settlement will be made through the ongoing spending review and allocations process. The Government’s view is that the upcoming BBC charter review is the right moment to look at potential sustainable and predictable funding mechanisms for the World Service in the long term.
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply, but horror stories abound in the press of Donald Trump and Elon Musk slashing staff programmes at the USAGM, Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. Does the Minister agree that the Chinese and Russian media would hail the Prime Minister as a hero if he allowed the FCDO to slash the BBC World Service budget? Can the Minister assure the House that there will be no more cuts but instead further investment, in tandem with today’s defence budget, as in the “message to Moscow” just announced?
I reiterate that the BBC plays a crucial part in ensuring that the world is a safer place, and that people are knowledgeable about what is going on. What the US has done with the US Agency for Global Media and how that impacts is, of course, a matter for the US. However, I remind the noble Baroness that we have shown our commitment to the World Service this year with a funding uplift of £32.6 million—31%—in 2025-26. I repeat that any decisions on government funding for the World Service in future years will be made through the ongoing spending review and allocation process. But the importance of the World Service must not be underestimated.