Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from Sir Michael Jay KCMG, Permanent Under-Secretary of State,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 28 June 2004
BBC MONITORING
1. Given your interest in the BBC World
Service, and my evidence session with the Foreign Affairs Committee
due on 29 June, I thought you would wish to be aware now of a
forthcoming change in stakeholder funding of BBC Monitoring.
2. As you may know, the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office currently contributes £7 million per annum to BBC
Monitoring's funding, which represents 33% of its overall stakeholder
funding. However, in the light of the current pressures on resources
and the Gershon Efficiency Review, the FCO is reviewing its funding
for BBC Monitoring. We have agreed with other stakeholders (MOD,
Cabinet Office and the BBC World Service) that we will reduce
our funding for 2005-06 by £2 million. BBC Monitoring's overall
funding will remain at its current level for 2005-06 as the difference
will be made up by other stakeholders and from the BBC Monitoring
Reserve.
3. The Cabinet Office has commissioned a
strategic review of BBC Monitoring which will aim to align customer
requirements better with available resources, and to agree a new
funding regime for future years. The review will report by the
end of this year.
Sir Michael Jay KCMG
Permanent Under-Secretary of State
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
28 June 2004
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