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Written Question
BBC World Service: Finance
Tuesday 27th October 2026

Asked by: Gagan Mohindra (Conservative - South West Hertfordshire)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes in funding for the BBC World Service on UK soft power.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

This Government highly values the BBC World Service and the important contribution it makes to the UK's soft power.

We have increased our contribution to World Service funding by 42 per cent to £148 million - up from £104 million in 2024.

World Service global weekly reach in 2025/26 was 355 million - an increase of 13 per cent from the previous year.