Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government is taking steps to support the BBC with preventing cuts to (a) BBC News, (b) BBC World Service and (c) other BBC television channels.

As set out in its Charter, the BBC has a vital role to play in enabling all audiences to engage fully with major local, regional, national, and global issues and participate in the democratic process, at all levels, as active and informed citizens.

The BBC is operationally and editorially independent, and decisions over how it delivers its services are for the BBC to make. However, the government is clear that the BBC must continue to deliver its Mission and Public Purposes. It should prioritise using its £3.8 billion annual licence fee income as necessary to deliver that remit.

On top of its licence fee income, FCDO is continuing to provide the BBC World Service with over £94 million annually for the next three years, supporting services in 12 languages and improving key services in Arabic, Russian and English. This is in addition to nearly £470 million FCDO have already provided through the World2020 programme since 2016. In 2022-23, the Government is also providing the BBC with an additional £4.1 million in emergency funding, to support the World Service in continuing to deliver services in Ukraine and Russia.

More broadly, it is important to recognise that the broadcasting sector is changing rapidly, with changes in audience viewing habits and increasing competition posing challenges for all of our Public Service Broadcasters. The BBC needs to be forward looking so it can meet the challenges of modern broadcasting, both at home and abroad.

The Government is committed to working with the BBC and supporting it in pursuing necessary reforms so that it can continue to best serve audiences and remain a global beacon long into the future. We will continue to work with the BBC as we progress this Government’s Roadmap for Reform of the BBC in preparation for the next Charter Review, and as we deliver much needed reform to the ‘compact’, the balance of benefits and obligations conferred on our public service broadcasters, to ensure they can continue to deliver for audiences across the United Kingdom.