Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether their reduction of funding for international aid will affect the funding given to the BBC.

HM Government highly values the BBC World Service. That is why HM Government is providing the BBC World Service with a funding uplift of £32.6 million (31 per cent) in 2025/26, taking HM Government's total contribution to £137 million.

The Prime Minister announced on 25 February a commitment to increase spending on defence to 2.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from April 2027, funded by reducing Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI). Delivering this reduction will require hard choices. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used, including for the BBC World Service, will be worked through, including as part of the ongoing Spending Review.