Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the de facto closure of BBC Persian and BBC Arabic on the UK's soft power.

The FCDO strongly values the work of the BBC World Service in promoting UK values globally through its independent and impartial broadcasting. The Integrated Review recognised the BBC's foreign language services as part of what makes the UK a soft power superpower.

Through the World2020 programme, the FCDO funds 12 language services and provides enhancements to certain services funded by the Licence Fee, including BBC Arabic. The remaining 29 services, including BBC Persian, are fully funded by the Licence Fee.

The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from Government, and therefore decisions about how language services are delivered are for them to take. Under the plans they announced last year, no language services will close. Whilst radio broadcasts for BBC Arabic and BBC Persian are ceasing, TV broadcasting for these services will continue and investment in digital services will increase, reflecting audience trends. BBC have provided assurance that audiences in need will still be served, regardless of these changes.