Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the contribution of the BBC World Service to supporting UK international diplomatic objectives.

We strongly value the work of the BBC World Service in promoting our values globally through its independent and impartial broadcasting. As part of the announcement on the BBC's Licence Fee, the Culture Secretary made it clear that the BBC should continue to make a substantive investment from the licence fee into the World Service to ensure that it continues to reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world - in English and through its language services. The BBC World Service now reaches 364 million people weekly, an over 40 per cent increase since the FCDO-funded World2020 programme began in 2016 which is invaluable for our soft power and influence globally.