Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision to bring forward the termination of the BBC World Service Sinhalese service; and whether they plan to make representations to prevent its termination.
The BBC announced in September 2020 their decision to close the Sinhala radio service, and we understand that plans for the closure are proceeding on the planned schedule. The BBC are maintaining their newsgathering presence in Sri Lanka and will focus on developing digital output. The BBC are operationally and editorially independent from Government, and the FCDO cannot dictate where changes to services may fall. The Sinhala service is also outside of the FCDO-funded World2020 programme.