Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the UK’s diplomatic soft power of the BBC World Service in Africa.

The FCDO strongly values the work of the BBC World Service and its independent and impartial broadcasting, which helps to promote UK values overseas. We support the BBC's mission to bring high quality and trusted news to African audiences, including where free speech is limited. FCDO investment into the BBC World Service via the World2020 programme has seen six new language services launch across Nigeria, Eritrea and Ethiopia, and has contributed to an increase of over 40% in weekly audience since 2016.