Written evidence from the Department for
International Development
DFID'S LEGAL
POSITION ON
FUNDING THE
BBC WORD SERVICE
The 2002 International Development Act makes reducing
poverty the core purpose of DFID's assistance. The Act sets out
when DFID can provide development or humanitarian assistance,
in what forms and on what terms. The Secretary of State is able
to provide assistance for sustainable development or improving
the welfare of the people in countries outside the UK, if he is
satisfied that aid is likely to reduce poverty. In essence this
is a statutory purpose test and a statutory condition (reduction
of poverty) that has to be met. To provide aid under section 1
of the 2002 Act lawfully, not only must the Secretary of State
be of the opinion that aid is for the purposes in section 1(2),
but there must also be a clear objective link between the assistance
and purposes it is claimed to be made for.
Core funding to the BBC World Service could not be
deemed to meet the terms of the Act as poverty reduction is not
identified as a purpose or objective of the BBC World Service
in either the BBC Royal Charter or the BBC World Service Broadcasting
Agreement.
To the extent that the BBC World Service is able
to identify specific programmes or activities that could be deemed
to meet the poverty reduction test DFID could provide funding
in the same way that it funds any organisation to deliver similar
objectives. But our preliminary view is that it is difficult to
identify any specific BBC World Service activities which will
meet this test other than, for example, the training of local
journalists and technicians.
15 March 2011
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