Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of funding English-language BBC World Service (a) content through the licence fee and (b) language services through direct Government grant-in-aid.

The World Service English service is part funded by BBC Licence Fee and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Grant-in-Aid. Any changes to that funding model will be explored through the Charter Review process, led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Ahead of this the Government will keep an open mind about the future of the licence fee and how the World Service is funded. The Charter Review is the right moment to look at potential future World Service funding mechanisms for the longer-term.