Funding cuts force BBC to close Caribbean Service

The BBC World Service confirmed on Wednesday that it will be closing its Caribbean service due to a 16 per cent cut in funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The respected international broadcaster said it will close five full language services, including the BBC Caribbean service, end radio programmes in seven languages and begin a phased reduction from most short wave and medium wave distribution of remaining radio services.

Under the proposed cuts, 480 posts are expected to close over the next year, including 70 in the Caribbean Service.

“This is a painful day for BBC World Service and the 180 million people around the world who rely on the BBC’s global news services every week," BBC Global News Director Peter Horrocks said.

"We are making cuts in services that we would rather not be making. But the scale of the cut in BBC World Service’s Grant-in-Aid funding is such that we couldn’t cope with this by efficiencies alone."

Horrocks was emphatic, however, that the quality of the BBC services will not change. He said the broadcaster’s aim is "to continue to be the world’s best known and most trusted provider of high quality impartial and editorially independent international news. We will continue to bring the BBC’s expertise, perspectives and content to the largest worldwide audience.”

The World Service will be funded from the licence fee from 2014. It's part of the new licence fee settlement agreed with the Government last autumn.

In the period up to 2014 the World Service continues to be funded by the Government through a grant from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.