The chair of the Culture, Media and Sports Committee said there are huge unanswered questions as to how the DCMS will manage a 1.2% reduction to its budget in the Chancellor’s Spending Review.
“A real-terms cut for DCMS is the wrong choice by the Chancellor. Promises of significant increases for the creative industries are welcome, although the detail needed to scrutinise this claim is lacking,” said Dame Caroline Dinenage.
“At the same time, a real-terms cut to the FCDO puts the UK’s soft power credentials and the sustainability of the BBC World Service in question, risking undermining the Chancellor’s promise of securonomics. As geo-politics become more uncertain, we cannot afford to simply step back and create a vacuum for hostile states’ media to fill.”
The BBC has been staking its claim for an increase in World Service funding, most recently through the launch of an experimental Polish news service, which it says will need additional backing in order to continue.
Ms Dinage says her committee will be scrutinising the impact of the decisions and the detail of the forthcoming Creative Industries Sector Plan.
