To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff at BBC Monitoring Caversham (a) there are in total and (b) monitor Russian-language broadcasts. (240659)

At BBC Monitoring Caversham there are 301 staff in total and 14 staff monitoring Russian language broadcasts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the audience for the BBC Russian internet service is based in (a) Russia, (b) other former Soviet Union countries, (c) the UK and (d) other countries. (240662)

The geographic distribution of users of the website of the BBC Russian Service varies from month to month.

Of those BBCRussian.com users in November 2008 whose locations were known, the breakdown is as follows:

(a) Russia 53 per cent.

(b) Other Former Soviet Union countries 17 per cent.

(c) UK 3 per cent.

(d) Other countries 27 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the US Administration and (b) other European countries on offering joint Russian language radio services for international audiences. (240663)

Neither the Foreign and Commonwealth Office nor the BBC World Service have had such discussions with other broadcasters in recent years. The BBC previously sought partnerships with Russian operators for FFM broadcasting but these presently are not possible. The BBC World Service has concentrated its efforts on improving BBC Russia through the recent changes implemented.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the location is of the transmitters for the BBC Russian Service. (240664)

BBC World Service's transmitters for the Russian Service are located in the UK and Europe.