Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 15
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)
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
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).