BBC News reports:-

"The BBC World Service is to have its funding cut by £2.22m this financial year, the government has announced.

BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten called the news "disappointing", though the head of the World service said there would be "no cuts to output".

Funding for the World Service will transfer from the Foreign Office to the BBC licence fee from next April.

In response to the announcement, Lord Patten said the BBC would increase the service's funding to £245m in 2014.

The figure is £6.5m more than the £238.5m currently being provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office."


More information may be found here.


The full statement from The Foreign and Commonwealth Office may be found here.

"BBC World Service and the British Council are also funded from the FCO budget and represent around one quarter of the FCO expenditure in 2013-14. At the Budget, the Chancellor announced that all unprotected areas of government spending would be cut by 1%. Spending on Overseas Development is protected. In line with this, FCO funding in 2013-14 to BBC World Service will reduce by £2.22m and to the British Council by £0.6m.

Specifically on the BBC World Service, we will be working closely to review their proposals for investments in World Service TV in Afghanistan, Burma and Somalia, with an expectation that additional programme funds of £0.5m will be made available in 2013-14. Looking forward, we will shortly agree with the BBC Trust the BBC World Service Operating Licence Objectives, Targets and Priorities which will come into force from April 2014 when the BBC World Service moves to licence fee funding"