Recommendations & Conclusions
27 items
2
Recommendation
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
The BBC struggles to articulate how the World Service provides value for money to UK taxpayers and why it should therefore continue receiving government funding. The Committee recognises the World Service’s importance amid volatile geopolitics and the rapid growth of state-backed competitors that do not present impartial views, alongside the …
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The BBC struggles to articulate how the World Service provides value for money to UK taxpayers and why it should therefore continue receiving government funding. The Committee recognises the World Service’s importance amid volatile geopolitics and the rapid growth of state-backed competitors that do not present impartial views, alongside the US government’s closure in March 2025 of the US Agency for Global Media, an independent federal agency that provided similar content globally to the World Service. As the World Service is paid for by UK taxpayers, through the licence fee and FCDO grant-in-aid, it must show more clearly the value this investment buys. The BBC cites compelling efficiency of the World Service costing around 87p per user per year. But a single cost-per-user figure cannot capture strategic impact or soft-power benefits. Some language services will always look ‘expensive’ on a narrow audience-per-pound basis because they operate where free media is repressed and trusted news is scarce. For example, in Afghanistan radio and education output can be the only reliable source. At present there is no single, transparent suite of value-for-money measures across TV, radio and digital that brings costs together with outcomes such as reach, trust, audience need and strategic benefit. recommendation The BBC should report back to the Committee within six months on measures it can use to quantify the value for money of the World Service, both overall and at language-service level, to support a clear, evidence-based case for continued government funding.
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees and will report back to the Committee within six months on measures it can use to quantify the value for money of the World Service, both overall and at language-service level.
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HM Treasury
3
Recommendation
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
Weaknesses in the BBC’s approach to the World Service’s digital transformation have meant it has struggled to migrate its audiences from traditional TV and radio services to digital platforms. Over the period 2021–22 to 2024–25, the World Service’s digital audiences fell, meaning they did not offset the impact of closing …
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Weaknesses in the BBC’s approach to the World Service’s digital transformation have meant it has struggled to migrate its audiences from traditional TV and radio services to digital platforms. Over the period 2021–22 to 2024–25, the World Service’s digital audiences fell, meaning they did not offset the impact of closing costly traditional radio and TV services in the way the BBC expected. Over the same period, the digital weekly audience (digital reach across BBC-owned services and third-party platforms) declined by 11% to 131 million. Performance varied widely across language services: the seven that became digital-only in 2022–23 saw overall audiences down 63% and their digital audiences down 39%, with Nigerian languages particularly affected as platforms deprioritised news. Beyond its high-level digital strategy, the BBC did not set detailed, 4 language service-level targets; define what ‘good looks like’ for each market; or establish granular monitoring to track whether broadcast users were switching by language and platform. Without a shared view of what ‘good looks like’ and timely data, teams could not redirect content and distribution quickly enough to secure audiences online. recommendation In its response to this report, the BBC should set out its approach to ensuring that teams know what good looks like with regards to the World Service’s digital transformation and what it is doing to address its uneven digital performance to date and accelerate digital transformation of its services.
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Government response AI summary
The BBC has developed a three-year plan articulating strategic goals around digital transformation and migration of audiences from traditional TV and radio audiences to digital platforms. More comprehensive market reviews are being carried out to ensure digital maturity and readiness, ensuring that in markets of …
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HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Rejected
The BBC’s ability to carry out long-term planning of the World Service is hampered by repeated short-term funding agreements from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Since 2021–22, the FCDO has provided around 30% of funding for the BBC World Service. It is therefore critical that FCDO funding is …
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The BBC’s ability to carry out long-term planning of the World Service is hampered by repeated short-term funding agreements from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Since 2021–22, the FCDO has provided around 30% of funding for the BBC World Service. It is therefore critical that FCDO funding is agreed over a sufficiently long time period, such as three years, and in a timely manner to allow the BBC to carry out effective long-term financial and strategic planning. However, FCDO funding has often been agreed in one-year funding agreements finalised late in the preceding financial year. For example, in January 2026 when we took evidence, the BBC still did not know the level of FCDO funding for the World Service for 2026–27. This means that the BBC is at risk of making decisions which support short-term budgeting pressures rather than being able to effectively plan expenditure to support longer- term value for money. The committee believes that the BBC should be facilitated to obtain more prompt funding settlements through the Treasury spending review process. recommendation The Treasury should give the BBC World Service a separate line in the Spending Review to enable multi-year and timely funding settlements.
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees and states that it would be premature to commit to a specific long-term funding model ahead of the Charter Review, but the FCDO has confirmed grant-in-aid funding of £148 million per year for 2026–27 to 2028–29.
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HM Treasury
5
Recommendation
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
The BBC World Service’s poor documentation means that the BBC cannot explain why it made key decisions and has hindered their ability to learn lessons going forwards. From 2021–22, the BBC has implemented three savings plans for the World Service which aimed to save £54.2 million. As a result of …
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The BBC World Service’s poor documentation means that the BBC cannot explain why it made key decisions and has hindered their ability to learn lessons going forwards. From 2021–22, the BBC has implemented three savings plans for the World Service which aimed to save £54.2 million. As a result of the need to make savings, the BBC has had to make difficult decisions about the level and range of World Service programming that it provides. This included the decision to close 19 Radio and TV outputs which directly led to a reduction in weekly audiences of around 30 million. However, the BBC failed to clearly document or explain in full its rationale for these critical decisions and accepts that some of 5 these choices have not stood the test of time. Without clear documentation or evidence of a consistent approach to its decisions, the BBC is hampered in its ability to examine why and how it made these decisions. This means it is unable to learn lessons which support better decision making and the best possible value for money in future. In the current financial climate, it is likely that the BBC will continue to need to make savings in the World Service and therefore it is crucial that it improves its processes and documentation for decision making. recommendation In its response to this report, the BBC should provide the committee with an update on its plans for improving its decision-making processes in relation to the World Service’s savings programmes. This should include details on how current documents, such as business cases, will be improved to meet good practice and how the BBC will ensure a clear document trail and rationale for its decisions will be in place going forwards.
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Government response AI summary
The BBC will improve documentation of decision-making processes around World Service savings programs, establish clearer criteria, document decisions better, redesign decision-making forums, and redesign business cases to include options analysis and alignment with strategic criteria.
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HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
The BBC’s lack of adequate monitoring of the World Service meant it was unable to assess its performance when implementing savings programmes. The BBC’s monitoring of its World Service savings programmes to date has focused primarily on financial metrics – for example the amount saved against targets. However, it did …
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The BBC’s lack of adequate monitoring of the World Service meant it was unable to assess its performance when implementing savings programmes. The BBC’s monitoring of its World Service savings programmes to date has focused primarily on financial metrics – for example the amount saved against targets. However, it did not set or monitor clear non-financial performance metrics which would have allowed it to assess the impact of its savings programmes on critical areas of delivery such as the amount of content it produced or the quality of that content. This means that senior leaders were unable to assess whether the savings programmes were performing in line with expectations or identify areas of concern and intervene quickly to improve performance. In addition, it means the BBC is unable to learn lessons with regards to the impact of its World Service savings programmes on the service it provides and use this to make better-informed choices going forwards. The BBC believes it has already begun to make changes to allow it to carry out better monitoring of the World Service going forwards. recommendation In its response to this report, the BBC should set out how it plans to set, monitor and report non-financial metrics in its World Service savings programmes going forwards. 6 1 The future of the BBC World Service Introduction
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Government response AI summary
The BBC will set, monitor, and report financial and non-financial metrics across input, output, and outcome areas, trialling them for business management and accountability, and will develop metrics to assess non-financial benefits of the regional governance structure.
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HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Acknowledged
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the British Broadcasting Company (the BBC) on the BBC World Services’ planning and implementation of its savings programmes since 2022.1
Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and highlights ongoing efforts to improve regional governance and accountability. The UK has recently assumed the role of Chair of the Media Freedom Coalition, a partnership of governments working together to promote and protect media freedom globally.
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HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
The BBC told us the World Service trust score remained broadly stable at about 78% over the period 2021 to 2025, while reported trust in the Chinese state broadcaster rose from 62% to 70% and in the Russian state broadcaster from 59% to 71%.10 Survey analysis also shows that the …
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The BBC told us the World Service trust score remained broadly stable at about 78% over the period 2021 to 2025, while reported trust in the Chinese state broadcaster rose from 62% to 70% and in the Russian state broadcaster from 59% to 71%.10 Survey analysis also shows that the World Service maintained its ranking of first among international competitors for trust, reliability and independence in 2024–25, although absolute scores fell compared with 2021–22.11 The BBC told us that without increased investment the UK risks losing further ground to state-backed competitors, such as China and Russia, which are rapidly expanding their global media reach.12 In response to this risk, when asked what it would do differently if 5 C&AG’s Report, para 5 6 C&AG’s Report, paras 1-2, 4 7 Q 10; C&AG’s Report, para 1.4 8 Q 7 9 The Henry Jackson Society (BWS0005) 10 Qq 41-42 11 C&AG’s Report, para 3.12 12 Q 55 8 it secured further FCDO investment, the BBC told us that it would expand verification through BBC Verify and a World Service disinformation team to detect, test and disprove false claims more quickly. It said it would also invest in circumvention so audiences in censored markets can continue to access impartial services, and in that way sustain trust. It also highlighted targeted local language launches, such as the Polish digital pilot, to provide clearly attributed BBC journalism in priority regions where Russian disinformation is prevalent, helping to retain audience trust against state-backed narratives.13
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's observation and is accelerating the implementation of its regional governance structure, including appointing Regional Directors by September 2026, to strengthen accountability and streamline decision-making. They are also enhancing trust metric tracking and refining mechanisms to combat disinformation by December …
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HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
Whistleblowing concerns, particularly about BBC Arabic’s phase-one restructuring, led the BBC Whistleblowing team to find insufficient documentation and analysis for key decisions; the Service addressed these recommendations inconsistently and with delays.14 More broadly, governance and responsiveness were weak, including governance structures having been set up late and underdeveloped planning and …
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Whistleblowing concerns, particularly about BBC Arabic’s phase-one restructuring, led the BBC Whistleblowing team to find insufficient documentation and analysis for key decisions; the Service addressed these recommendations inconsistently and with delays.14 More broadly, governance and responsiveness were weak, including governance structures having been set up late and underdeveloped planning and risk management. The 2022 language service restructure did not meet its intended objectives and has since been superseded by a new regional international operating model announced in February 2025.15 The BBC acknowledged that lines of editorial accountability had become “too opaque” and explained the shift to six regional directors to create a single point of accountability in each region.16
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the observation and is implementing significant changes to decision-making documentation, establishing clearer criteria for savings decisions, redesigning governance forums to clarify roles and strengthen accountability, and redesigning business cases to include options analysis and clearer input frameworks, with a target implementation …
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HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
In February 2025, the BBC announced its move to a new international governance model and we asked the BBC about progress with its new international structure. The BBC told us that only one of six regional director roles was permanently filled at the time of our evidence session, with recruitment …
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In February 2025, the BBC announced its move to a new international governance model and we asked the BBC about progress with its new international structure. The BBC told us that only one of six regional director roles was permanently filled at the time of our evidence session, with recruitment under way for the others; it described early benefits in ideas flow and accountability but said it was early days for measurable effects.17 On BBC Arabic, given concerns about impartiality and trust, the BBC told us that is had tightened oversight, including appointing a regional director for the Middle East, creating a unified Head of Service for Arabic across TV, radio and digital, recruiting an Arabic speaking Head of Editorial Standards and Quality, rolling out new training, and overhauling specific formats, such as the newspaper review.18 13 Q 14 14 C&AG’s Report, paras 12, 2.20-2.22 15 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.9-2.10 16 Qq 16, 51 17 Q 51; C&AG’s Report, para 10 18 Q 47 9 Measuring value for money
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's observation and is accelerating the implementation of its regional governance structure, aiming to finalise Regional Director appointments by September 2026. They are also strengthening accountability mechanisms, enhancing trust tracking, and refining disinformation assessment mechanisms by December 2026.
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HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Rejected
Funded by the licence fee and FCDO grant-in-aid, total BBC World Service funding has fallen 21% in real terms over the period 2021–22 to 2025–26. In response to falling real-terms funding, the Service has been implementing its savings programmes since 2022–23.19 This has contributed to a decrease in audience numbers …
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Funded by the licence fee and FCDO grant-in-aid, total BBC World Service funding has fallen 21% in real terms over the period 2021–22 to 2025–26. In response to falling real-terms funding, the Service has been implementing its savings programmes since 2022–23.19 This has contributed to a decrease in audience numbers of 52 million (15%) over the period 2021–22 to 2024–25.20 The World Service’s audience is concentrated in markets where media freedoms are low and digital infrastructure is weaker, which shapes how its service is delivered: for example, in Afghanistan around 80% of Dari language reach is via radio.21 In addition, the BBC told us the Service now operates amid an intensifying geopolitical contest for information, with state-backed rivals “flooding the zone” and expanding investment.22
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the implicit recommendation to address the funding decline, stating it is premature to commit to a specific long-term funding model for the BBC World Service ahead of the upcoming BBC Charter Review, while confirming interim funding.
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HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
We asked the BBC how it proves value for money and whether it has compelling metrics to demonstrate this to the FCDO.23 The BBC told us that the World Service currently cost around 87 pence per user per year as an indicator of efficiency.24 However, the BBC does not yet …
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We asked the BBC how it proves value for money and whether it has compelling metrics to demonstrate this to the FCDO.23 The BBC told us that the World Service currently cost around 87 pence per user per year as an indicator of efficiency.24 However, the BBC does not yet have a comprehensive set of measures that link its World Service expenditure to outputs and outcomes across TV, radio and digital platforms and we note that a single cost-per-user figure cannot capture impact or soft-power benefits.25 The BBC acknowledged that work is ongoing to present spend alongside outcomes more clearly across platforms, but emphasised that value for money must also reflect audience need, trust and strategic benefit in contested environment.26
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's observation regarding the need for comprehensive value-for-money metrics linking expenditure to outcomes across platforms. They have a target implementation date of September 2026 and will report back to the Committee within six months.
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HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
Some language services serve smaller or harder to reach audiences, often in countries where media freedom is low and reliable news is difficult to access, therefore their reach is lower and they can appear higher-cost on simple cost per user measures, yet they meet the highest need audiences.27 The BBC …
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Some language services serve smaller or harder to reach audiences, often in countries where media freedom is low and reliable news is difficult to access, therefore their reach is lower and they can appear higher-cost on simple cost per user measures, yet they meet the highest need audiences.27 The BBC explained that it assessed audience need by considering fragility, conflict and repression, and it noted that radio or traditional services must be retained in markets such as Afghanistan and parts of the francophone Africa. It gave an example of Afghanistan, where education output for girls on radio and TV in Dars language had provided one of the only reliable sources of learning and trusted news.28 19 C&AG’s Report, paras 2, 1.16 20 C&AG’s Report, para 14 21 C&AG’s Report, para 1.3, Fig 2 22 Q 55 23 Q 41 24 Q 24 25 Q7; C&AG’s Report, paras 2.13-2.14 26 Q 32 27 Qq 10-11; C&AG’s Report, paras 1.7, 2.4 28 Q 10 10 Tracking progress on digital transformation
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's observation, committing to new planning cycles and digital transformation. It will ensure that digital transformation does not compromise the ability to reach key audiences in markets of greatest need, including women, while strengthening digital performance globally.
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HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
In May 2022, the BBC announced its intention to move from traditional broadcast radio and TV outputs to online platforms as part of digital-first strategy. The strategy aimed to migrate audiences from closed TV and radio services to BBC websites and social platforms so that reach could be sustained while …
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In May 2022, the BBC announced its intention to move from traditional broadcast radio and TV outputs to online platforms as part of digital-first strategy. The strategy aimed to migrate audiences from closed TV and radio services to BBC websites and social platforms so that reach could be sustained while delivering savings.29 However, since 2021–22, the World Service’s overall digital audience has declined by 11% to 131 million, and TV and radio services have fallen by a fifth in the same period. Total audiences fell by 47 million from 2021–22 to 2022–23 and then by a further 5 million up to 2024–25, indicating that online consumption had not replaced the reach lost from broadcast closures at that point. In 2022–23, the BBC estimated that broadcast closures accounted for around 30 million of the 47 million fall in overall audience.30
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the observation and is implementing new annual and three-year planning cycles, redesigning digital reporting, launching initiatives to improve digital reach (especially among women), and conducting market reviews to strengthen digital performance, with a target implementation by September 2026.
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HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
Performance varied widely across services. Language services that became digital-only in 2022–23 saw overall audiences fall by 63% and their digital audiences by 39%, while services that closed either radio or TV but retained the other declined by less. Within the digital-only group, declines were concentrated in Nigerian language services, …
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Performance varied widely across services. Language services that became digital-only in 2022–23 saw overall audiences fall by 63% and their digital audiences by 39%, while services that closed either radio or TV but retained the other declined by less. Within the digital-only group, declines were concentrated in Nigerian language services, which the BBC told us reflected Facebook’s deprioritisation of news in its algorithm. Over the same period, the World Service’s Facebook reach globally fell by 17% to 46 million. The BBC did not analyse why performance varied across services, nor evaluate common factors behind stronger or weaker results, and it has not analysed the extent to which the savings programmes and digital strategy affected digital-only services.31
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's observation and is implementing new annual and three-year planning cycles with formal business reviews, redesigning digital reporting dashboards, and conducting comprehensive market reviews by September 2026. These measures aim to better understand digital performance variations and ensure effective digital …
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HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
Beyond a high-level digital strategy, the BBC did not set detailed language-service targets or define “what good looks like” for each market. Estimates of audience impacts lacked timeframes, and the BBC did not track whether broadcast users were switching by language and platform. Without a shared view of “what good …
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Beyond a high-level digital strategy, the BBC did not set detailed language-service targets or define “what good looks like” for each market. Estimates of audience impacts lacked timeframes, and the BBC did not track whether broadcast users were switching by language and platform. Without a shared view of “what good looks like” and timely data, teams could not redirect content and distribution quickly enough to secure audiences online.32
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the observation and is implementing new annual and three-year planning cycles, redesigning digital reporting, launching initiatives to improve digital reach (especially among women), and conducting market reviews to strengthen digital performance, with a target implementation by September 2026.
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HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
The BBC told us that digital-first meant prioritising online delivery on both BBC owned services and major third party platforms, and said confusion arose where teams still produced for radio or TV alongside digital output. The BBC explained that it measured success by weekly reach, alongside audience demographics and the …
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The BBC told us that digital-first meant prioritising online delivery on both BBC owned services and major third party platforms, and said confusion arose where teams still produced for radio or TV alongside digital output. The BBC explained that it measured success by weekly reach, alongside audience demographics and the proportion of usage on BBC owned 29 C&AG’s Report, para 2.7 30 C&AG’s Report, paras 15, 3.6-3.7, 3.10 31 C&AG’s Report, paras 3.8-3.11 32 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.9, 2.15, 3.2, 3.10-3.11 11 services rather than third party platforms. But it accepted that some teams had been unsure “what good looks like” during the change period.33 The BBC said external factors affecting digital performance included social platforms deprioritising news and uneven digital readiness across markets (e.g., internet access and data costs), which complicated the timing of withdrawing from broadcast services in some regions. When asked whether assumptions on the pace of migration had been over optimistic in some regions, the BBC said that judgments could not always be exact and that it monitored indicators such as data costs and competitor behaviour, adapting or re-introducing traditional outputs where needed, for example, an Urdu TV bulletin in Pakistan.34 33 Qq 32-34; C&AG’s Report, para 2.15 34 Qq 33-34 12 2 The BBC’s approach to planning and implementing savings in the World Service Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funding
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's observation and is implementing new annual and three-year planning cycles with formal business reviews, redesigning digital reporting dashboards, and conducting comprehensive market reviews by September 2026. These efforts aim to clarify the digital transformation strategy and ensure consistent performance …
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HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Rejected
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have provided around a quarter of the BBC World Service’s funding since it restarted funding in 2016–17. In return for this funding, the BBC must ensure that the World Service meets certain requirements including being unable to close entire language services without agreement …
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The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have provided around a quarter of the BBC World Service’s funding since it restarted funding in 2016–17. In return for this funding, the BBC must ensure that the World Service meets certain requirements including being unable to close entire language services without agreement from the Foreign Secretary and the agreement of annual objectives, priorities and targets against which the BBC must report each year.35
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with maintaining the existing funding model for BBC World Service as described, stating it would be premature to commit to a specific long-term funding model before the BBC Charter Review, where it will explore bespoke long-term funding arrangements, though interim funding is …
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HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Rejected
Since 2016–17 the FCDO has set out its funding for the World Service for between one and four years at a time, as well as providing additional funding for specific purposes, such as additional coverage of the Russia- Ukraine conflict. In January 2025, three Parliamentary select committees wrote to the …
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Since 2016–17 the FCDO has set out its funding for the World Service for between one and four years at a time, as well as providing additional funding for specific purposes, such as additional coverage of the Russia- Ukraine conflict. In January 2025, three Parliamentary select committees wrote to the FCDO and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), following a joint inquiry into the Service which recommended future funding rounds of at least three years to enable the Service to plan into the future.36
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with committing to a specific long-term funding model now, stating it would be premature ahead of the BBC Charter Review ending December 2027. They will explore multi-year budget options as part of the Charter Review and have confirmed interim funding of £148 …
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HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Rejected
The BBC told us that its ability to effectively carry out long-term budgeting and strategy planning is hampered by the FCDO’s funding approach. For example, the BBC noted that, at the time of our evidence session on 8 January, it did not yet have its funding settlement from the FCDO …
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The BBC told us that its ability to effectively carry out long-term budgeting and strategy planning is hampered by the FCDO’s funding approach. For example, the BBC noted that, at the time of our evidence session on 8 January, it did not yet have its funding settlement from the FCDO for the new financial year starting in April.37 The BBC explained that although it was able to manage the risk associated with uncertain funding 35 C&AG’s Report, paras 1.10-1.11, 2.4, Figure 4 36 C&AG’s Report, para 1.13, Figure 6 37 Q 5 13 levels through planning for different scenarios, shorter lead times lead to a lower quality of decision making.38 However, the BBC was optimistic that its next settlement from the FCDO would be for a longer-term settlement.39
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with committing to a specific long-term funding model now, stating it would be premature ahead of the BBC Charter Review ending December 2027. They will explore multi-year budget options as part of the Charter Review and have confirmed interim funding of £148 …
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HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Rejected
We asked the BBC what it would do if it were to receive the funding settlement it requested from the FCDO. The BBC told us that it was grateful that the FCDO had increased funding by £30 million in 2025–26 and it had asked for a similar increase for 2026–27. …
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We asked the BBC what it would do if it were to receive the funding settlement it requested from the FCDO. The BBC told us that it was grateful that the FCDO had increased funding by £30 million in 2025–26 and it had asked for a similar increase for 2026–27. The BBC explained that this level of increase would not allow for transformational change due to financial pressures such as inflation and continued investment in digital services.40 However, the BBC did set out an ambition to use any additional funding in several ways including extending the use of AI as a translation tool to grow its “slim-line” service in Polish to other markets such as Hungarian and Romanian and investing further in countering disinformation.41 Enabling good decision making
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Government response AI summary
The government states it disagrees with the committee's perceived recommendation regarding funding for the BBC World Service. It explains it is premature to commit to a specific long-term funding model ahead of the Charter Review but confirms interim grant-in-aid funding of £148 million per year …
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HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
In response to real-terms reductions in World Service funding, the BBC has implemented three savings programmes since 2022 which cumulatively aimed to save £54.2 million by March 2026.42 The BBC has made savings to date through a variety of measures including the closure of Radio outputs in 13 languages and …
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In response to real-terms reductions in World Service funding, the BBC has implemented three savings programmes since 2022 which cumulatively aimed to save £54.2 million by March 2026.42 The BBC has made savings to date through a variety of measures including the closure of Radio outputs in 13 languages and TV outputs in six languages.43 The BBC estimates these closures directly led to a fall in average weekly audiences of 30 million. Despite the importance of these decisions, the BBC did not clearly document how it ultimately made decisions, including which TV and radio outputs should be closed. This means that it is not possible to evaluate how decisions were ultimately made, or whether a clear and consistent rationale was applied across different regions.44
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's observation and is implementing significant changes to decision-making processes for World Service savings programmes by December 2026. This includes establishing clearer criteria for decisions, better documentation in a central repository, redesigned governance forums, and business cases mandatorily demonstrating options …
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HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
The BBC explained that it considered a range of factors when deciding which TV and radio outputs to close. This included factors such as: a. The reach and share of different markets. b. The digital maturity of different markets – for example some places such as Afghanistan have a low …
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The BBC explained that it considered a range of factors when deciding which TV and radio outputs to close. This included factors such as: a. The reach and share of different markets. b. The digital maturity of different markets – for example some places such as Afghanistan have a low level of digital maturity and therefore it is important to continue to provide radio services. 38 Q 13 39 Q 5 40 Q 13 41 Q 14 42 C&AG’s Report, para 1.16 43 C&AG’s Report, para 2.3-2.6 44 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.14, 3.2 14 c. The level of audience need – consideration of the level of conflict and media repression in different places.45
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's observation (interpreted as a recommendation to improve processes). It is implementing significant changes by December 2026 to improve the documentation of decision-making processes for World Service savings, including establishing clearer criteria, redesigning governance forums, and mandating options analysis in …
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HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
The BBC accepted, however, the NAO’s finding that the rationale behind decisions on which individual language services should be closed was not clear enough and that there was insufficient supporting documentation. The BBC acknowledged that some of the decisions it made, for example the decision to close Arabic radio, “did …
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The BBC accepted, however, the NAO’s finding that the rationale behind decisions on which individual language services should be closed was not clear enough and that there was insufficient supporting documentation. The BBC acknowledged that some of the decisions it made, for example the decision to close Arabic radio, “did not stand the test of time”. The BBC told us that although it could not be confident that better reporting would have led to a different decision, it would have given a clearer trail to allow understanding of how that decision was made.46
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's finding and is implementing significant changes to decision-making documentation, criteria for savings decisions, and the redesign of business cases by December 2026. These efforts aim to establish clearer criteria, improve documentation in a central repository, and strengthen accountability within …
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HM Treasury
24
Recommendation
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
The BBC explained that it planned to make refinements to its processes based on the NAO’s findings to ensure that it is better able to look back on decisions it has made and make a clearer assessment of what did and didn’t work.47 This includes making improvements to its business …
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The BBC explained that it planned to make refinements to its processes based on the NAO’s findings to ensure that it is better able to look back on decisions it has made and make a clearer assessment of what did and didn’t work.47 This includes making improvements to its business planning paperwork and supporting templates.48 Monitoring the progress of savings programmes
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's recommendation and is implementing significant changes to its processes, documentation, and governance for World Service savings programmes by December 2026. This includes establishing clearer criteria, redesigning decision-making forums, and improving business cases. Additionally, by March 2027, the BBC is …
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HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
The BBC did not put in place effective monitoring of its BBC World Service savings programmes. The BBC set clear financial targets for its savings programmes, however, the complexity of its finance systems meant that it could not track savings on a granular level and had to rely on estimates. …
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The BBC did not put in place effective monitoring of its BBC World Service savings programmes. The BBC set clear financial targets for its savings programmes, however, the complexity of its finance systems meant that it could not track savings on a granular level and had to rely on estimates. In addition, the BBC focused on financial metrics without setting out clearly what success would look like for its non-financial objectives or how this would be measured.49 For example, the BBC did not track the impact of its savings programmes on key measures such as the amount of new content it produces or analyse how the changes it made during its savings programmes impacted its outputs at an overall or language-service level. Without effective monitoring, senior leaders were unable to effectively understand if the World Service savings programme were progressing in line with expectations, identify where progress is off-track or learn lessons which support better informed future decision making.50 45 Q 10 46 Q 15 47 Q 26 48 Q 5 49 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.13, 2.18 50 C&AG’s Report, paras 17, 2.18, 3.3 15
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the observation and is developing global and regional scorecards to monitor financial and non-financial metrics across all programmes, including specific metrics for non-financial benefits of the regional governance structure, with a target implementation by March 2027.
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HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
The BBC acknowledged that its tracking of financial metrics, outputs and outcomes of the World Service savings programmes need to be improved in future.51 The BBC explained that its ability to project manage the implementation of the World Service savings programmes and effectively track its inputs, outputs and outcomes was …
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The BBC acknowledged that its tracking of financial metrics, outputs and outcomes of the World Service savings programmes need to be improved in future.51 The BBC explained that its ability to project manage the implementation of the World Service savings programmes and effectively track its inputs, outputs and outcomes was hampered by a lack of dedicated project management support. The BBC told us that it now has a new senior role in the World Service for strategic planning and delivery to support better implementation of programmes in the future.52
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's observation and is developing global and regional scorecards to track financial and non-financial metrics across inputs, outputs, and outcomes by March 2027. These scorecards will be integrated into business review processes and used to assess benefits of the regional …
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HM Treasury
27
Recommendation
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Accepted
We asked the BBC to provide detail on the changes it was making to improve its monitoring of the World Service’s savings programmes. The BBC told us that it had introduced a new monthly system for tracking finances which brings key information, such as staff numbers and savings made, together …
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We asked the BBC to provide detail on the changes it was making to improve its monitoring of the World Service’s savings programmes. The BBC told us that it had introduced a new monthly system for tracking finances which brings key information, such as staff numbers and savings made, together in one place.53 However, the BBC told us that its World Service finance systems required investment as it depended on significant levels of staff manually entering data into spreadsheets.54 The BBC told us that it had also improved its tracking of non-financial metrics of the World Service savings programmes. It explained that it has implemented a new monthly performance review that reviews non-financial metrics and considers the impact of changes to inputs, such as reduced expenditure, on its outputs, such as its level of content, and its outcomes, such as levels of audience trust.55 51 Q 28 52 Q 19 53 Q 29 54 Q 6 55 Q 30 16
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Government response AI summary
The BBC agrees with the committee's recommendation to improve its monitoring systems and will develop global and regional scorecards for financial and non-financial metrics by March 2027. These scorecards are currently being trialled and will be used for business management and accountability across various programmes.
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HM Treasury