Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will commit to allocating long-term funding to the BBC World Service to enable that broadcaster to further extend its reach.

The FCDO strongly values the work of the BBC World Service in promoting our values globally through its independent and impartial broadcasting. It is an integral part of our soft power.

We have provided the World Service with over £378m over 5 years (2016-21) through the World2020 programme, in order to fund enhancements to existing language services and 12 new language services. The World Service now reaches a record breaking 351m people weekly, an over 40% increase since the programme began in 2016, demonstrating the impact of FCDO investment. Future funding for the World Service is being considered alongside other FCDO spending priorities at SR20 and will be announced in due course.