Written question asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative) on Monday, 15 May 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 May 2006. It was answered by Ian McCartney (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 May 2006 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

BBC World Service

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many hours a week was broadcast by the BBC World Service to (a) Bhutan and (b) Nepal in (i) television and (ii) radio format in the last year for which figures are available.

Answer: There is no dedicated service to Bhutan. But SW transmissions of the Bengali, Nepalese and English services are audible there. The dedicated Nepalese service is delivered on SW and FM. FM transmissions were adversely affected by recent political events. These should return to normal soon. SW transmissions in English and Hindi can also be heard in Nepal. Details are:"Bhutan?English (115.5 hours per week), Bengali (10.5 hours per week), Nepalese (3.5 hours per week)Bhutan?English (115.5 hours per week), Bengali (10.5 hours per week), Nepalese (3.5 hours per week)""Nepal?English (129.5 hours per week), Nepalese (3.5 hours per week), Hindi (17.5 hours per week)Nepal?English (129.5 hours per week), Nepalese (3.5 hours per week), Hindi (17.5 hours per week)"From March to end September 2005, the Nepalese Service also broadcast an additional 15 minutes daily but this was discontinued in October. The World Service does not broadcast via television.

Secondary information