Thursday 8th
January, 10am, Grimond Room, Portcullis House
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold a scrutiny session
on the BBC World Service
at10am on Thursday 8th January 2026,
taking evidence from senior BBC officials including outgoing BBC
Director General Tim Davie CBE.
The World Service's budget (£358m in 2025-26) has fallen by 21%
in real terms since 2021-22. This has mainly taken place as part
of the BBC's management of an overall reduction in licence fee
income, which funds the World Service in combination with
government grant funding. Since 2022, savings of £48.6m have been
made by the World Service against a target of £54.2m, primarily
found through closures of TV and radio outputs.
The PAC's session will be focused on the progress and impact of
savings programmes within the Service. The National Audit Office
found last year that the savings and closures made have
contributed to a fall in audiences of 52m (14%) between '21-'22
and '24-'25. The World Service expected this would be mitigated
by a corresponding rise in audiences on digital platforms, but
digital audiences fell by 11% in the same period.
Witnesses' views will likely be sought on the approach to these
savings programmes and the impact on BBC audiences. Other likely
topics include how public trust will be sustained in BBC World
Service services.
Witnesses from 10am:
- Tim Davie CBE, Director General at
BBC
- Jonathan Munro, Interim CEO of News
and Current Affairs at BBC
- Fiona Crack, Interim Global News
Director, Director of the World Service at BBC
