Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 12
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)
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
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).