MPs 'deeply troubled' by BBC World Service funding uncertainty

A committee of MPs have said they are "deeply troubled" by uncertainty over the government's future funding for the BBC World Service.

The government provides about 30% of the budget for the World Service, which reaches more than 300 million people a week and is "a jewel in the crown of the UK's soft power", according to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

However, its "prominence is being diminished by poor governance and short-sighted funding decisions", the committee's chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said.

The current funding agreement between the BBC and the government expires at the end of this month and there isn't a new one in place.

"The PAC was deeply troubled to learn that the BBC still does not know how much the government would fund the World Service for the coming year," the committee said as it published a report into the service on Friday.

The BBC wants the government to take back responsibility for funding all of the World Service, as it did until 2014.

The government said the World Service’s work was “highly valued” and that its next funding allocation would be made before the start of the new financial year in early April.

The committee of MPs operates separately from the government. Its report warned that the World Service is "at risk of losing its position as the most-trusted international broadcaster" because of a combination of funding difficulties and poor management by the BBC.

Sir Geoffrey said: "Both government and the BBC should seriously think about how the World Service's influence can be bolstered around the world, rather than risk its reach withering by degrees year on year."

The World Service is in danger of losing ground to rivals based in countries like Russia and China, which are spending billions on their global media outlets, he said.

The BBC's ability to plan for the World Service's long-term future "is hampered by repeated short-term funding agreements from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" (FCDO), the report said.

That means the BBC is at risk of making decisions based on "short-term budgeting pressures" rather than "longer term value for money", it said.

The committee criticised the BBC, saying the broadcaster has failed to make a clear case for continued government funding.

There have also been "weaknesses in BBC governance" of the service, and the BBC's management of the World Service's digital transformation had weaknesses that have contributed to a fall in digital audiences, the report said.

The committee stressed that it "must both remember and praise all BBC staff working in countries in which they and their families may be at risk of imprisonment or worse".

In a speech on Thursday, BBC director general Tim Davie called for the government to put more money into the World Service at a time when Russia, China, and Iran are "investing billions in propaganda".

"I struggle to think of anyone who doesn't nod along when I say the service is needed more than ever," he said. "But talk is cheap. We need action."

At another point in his speech, Davie said: "As for the World Service, we are very clear: we think the Government should take back full funding, as it did for over 80 years."

A BBC spokesperson said: "We welcome the PAC's report which recognises the importance of the BBC World Service as the most trusted international news provider globally, and the need for secure, long-term funding.

"This is why we are calling for the government to take back full funding of the World Service as part of the BBC Charter Review.

"We are making changes to strengthen how we demonstrate value for money and to improve governance and documentation.

"We thank the committee for their praise of our staff working in difficult and dangerous conditions and will respond to them more fully in line with their recommendations."

FCDO Minister Chris Elmore MP said: "The work the World Service does as an independent and trusted broadcaster, showcasing the UK, our culture, and our values around the globe, is highly valued by this government.

"Grant-in-Aid funding for the next three years for the World Service will be decided through the FCDO allocations process.

"The FCDO's final World Service overall allocations will be made before the beginning of the 2026/27 financial year."