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The BBC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are in charge of conflict courses through global services, and while broadcasters are seeking a sharp increase in state funding, the government is significantly cutting international aid budgets.
BBC executives hope that global services will rise to nearly £202 million next year, up from around £137 million, as part of an ambitious three-year settlement designed to counter Russia and China’s propaganda, according to people close to consultations.
In the long term, they are asking the government to take on almost all of the annual budgets for World Services since 2027, and are raising broadcaster governance and funding, consistent with the BBC’s 10-year royal charter review.
The majority of global services funding comes from BBC licensing fees, while the rest comes from foreign, federal and development office aid budgets. However, the FCDO is now managing the biggest cuts in aid budget in decades after Prime Minister Kiel redirected funds towards military spending.
As part of this week’s government spending review, FCDO has asked the BBC to model a global services budget that will be “fixed cash” over the next three years. This protects it from the worst cuts, but suggests a reduction in the true terms of funding, according to people familiar with the issue.
The final decision on funding for global service is unlikely to reach before the fall, but the gap between the BBC and FCDO remains wide, according to government officials.
Jonathan Munro, global director of BBC News, declined to comment on the exact level of additional state funding the BBC requested for global services in spending review negotiations, but confirmed that the broadcaster has asked the government to cover more costs from 2027.
He told the Financial Times: “The history of world service is that it was funded by taxpayers for almost all lifetimes, which plays a role throughout the UK overseas.
He said the UK “benefited from the impacts that supported global security and stability, but that is not the licensing fee payer’s responsibility.”
Until 2014, the government covered the entire cost of global services.
Officials noted that the FCDO has already increased its global services state funding by 31% to £137 million from 2025-26, but added that the government is “open-minded” about how global services will be funded in the long term as part of future BBC charter reviews.
Barones Chapman, Minister of FCDO, who oversees the international aid budget, said in March that while the government “values” BBC World Services, it would take “a tough choice” to deliver planned cuts to the aid budget.
A FCDO spokesperson said it would “not preempt the allocation process,” but “it is clear that it has solid track record of support for BBC World Services.
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Parliamentary lawmakers and officials are concerned that the actual decline in funding means the impact of services around the world, meaning that UK “soft power” will be eroded.
Last week, Caroline Dinage, chair of the Committee on Parliamentary Studies, which examines the departments of culture, media and sports, wrote to the minister about the impact of cuts on FCDO’s contributions.
Dinenage said that UK national security has not been strengthened by “the Russian or Chinese state-backed media has made it easier for around £8 billion to become the dominant voice around the world.”
Global Services reach more than 400 million people each week in 42 languages. Munro pointed to future reports that showed that almost three-quarters of BBC News’ scope lies in the country at the lowest of press freedom.
