Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 11
72nd Report - BBC World Service
Published 13 Mar 2026
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee BBC World Service 2024-25 All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
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
From: Public Accounts Committee, 72nd Report - BBC World Service (HC 1299), 13 March 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 1 June 2026 (deadline 13 May 2026).