Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Thank you for your letter of 9 April, asking
for fuller details about the decision to end the contribution
from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to the Commonwealth
Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP).
As I explained in my letter of 11 March, we
want to rationalise our scholarships into a smaller, better organised
programme, and to use the savings we make from this reform to
support new priority programmes, principally on climate change.
You asked about the evidential basis for concluding
that Commonwealth scholarships are less worthy of FCO financial
support than Chevening scholarships. We want our scholarship schemes
to develop influence for us among the world's future leaders.
And they do this most effectively when our Posts have clear ownership
of the scholarships, have a clear ambition to select future leaders,
and form and maintain strong links with scholars from the time
of their selection through their careers. The CSFP is a well-run
programme, but its nature is different, operating at arm's length
from the FCO, selecting according to different criteria and not
providing the level of engagement we need to form proper bonds
with scholars and alumni.
You also asked about internal or external reviews
of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Commonwealth scholarships
and their benefits. In December 2007 the Commonwealth Scholarship
Commission (CSC) submitted to us a self-evaluation of its performance
on FCO-funded Commonwealth scholarships. I enclose a copy. There
have been no formal external reviews of the CSFP.
You asked whether the FCO carried out a specific
review of its support for the CSFP. Ministers at the Board considered
the issue as part of their discussions about the future of FCO
support for scholarship schemes.
You asked for details of the timing and content
of consultation with external bodies (including the CSC, other
Commonwealth governments and relevant academic bodies) before
the decision was taken. FCO officials are in regular touch with
the CSC and UK universities about scholarship issues. We did not
consult them or other Commonwealth governments specifically on
the decision to end our contribution to the CSFP. The changes
to our scholarship schemes are rooted in our 2006 review of the
Chevening scholarship programme, on which the FCO consulted widely.
You also asked for details of FCO funding of
the three schemes over the last 15 years, adjusted for inflation,
and projected future funding for the Chevening and Marshall schemes.
These are set out below (the total FCO scholarships budget in
2009-10 and 2010-11 will be £25,600,000 each year, but the
breakdown between the three schemes has not yet been established):
ACTUAL FIGURES
|
| Financial Year | Chevening
| Marshall | Commonwealth
|
|
| 1993-94 | £29,870,000*
| £1,364,000 | £2,809,000
|
| 1994-95 | Not available
| £1,398,000 | £2,751,000
|
| 1995-96 | Not available
| £1,437,109 | £2,751,000
|
| 1996-97 | Not available
| £1,351,744 | £2,283,000
|
| 1997-98 | £29,000,000
| £1,519,631 | £2,650,000
|
| 1998-99 | £27,900,000
| £1,623,844 | £2,538,368
|
| 1999-2000 | £29,000,000
| £1,667,884 | £2,255,727
|
| 2000-01 | £32,000,000
| £1,731,373 | £1,750,000
|
| 2001-02 | £33,300,000
| £1,800,156 | £1,950,000
|
| 2002-03 | £34,200,000
| £1,927,962 | £2,000,000
|
| 2003-04 | £33,500,000
| £1,959,706 | £2,050,000
|
| 2004-05 | £32,900,000
| £2,077,326 | £2,050,000
|
| 2005-06 | £33,400,000
| £2,173,347 | £2,050,000
|
| 2006-07 | £33,200,000
| £2,291,554 | £2,075,038
|
| 2007-08 | £32,289,000
| £2,200,000 | £2,050,000
|
| 2008-09 | £23,660,000
| £2,200,000 | £2,050,000
|
| 2009-10 | To be confirmed
| To be confirmed | To be confirmed
|
| 2010-11 | To be confirmed
| To be confirmed | To be confirmed
|
|
ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION
|
| Financial Year | Chevening
| Marshall | Commonwealth
|
|
| 1993-94 | £41,327,688*
| £1,887,210 | £3,886,491
|
| 1994-95 | Not available
| £1,905,411 | £3,749,489
|
| 1995-96 | Not available
| £1,901,038 | £3,639,081
|
| 1996-97 | Not available
| £1,729,812 | £2,921,529
|
| 1997-98 | £34,470,052
| £1,889,360 | £3,294,749
|
| 1998-99 | £33,832,124
| £1,969,107 | £3,078,078
|
| 1999-2000 | £34,470,052
| £1,982,484 | £2,681,208
|
| 2000-01 | £37,501,904
| £2,029,056 | £2,050,885
|
| 2001-02 | £38,113,332
| £2,060,359 | £2,231,862
|
| 2002-03 | £37,955,718
| £2,139,684 | £2,219,633
|
| 2003-04 | £36,131,843
| £2,113,665 | £2,211,053
|
| 2004-05 | £34,530,894
| £2,180,302 | £2,151,621
|
| 2005-06 | £34,316,596
| £2,232,990 | £2,106,258
|
| 2006-07 | £33,200,000
| £2,291,554 | £2,075,038
|
| 2007-08 | £31,272,639
| £2,130,751 | £1,985,472
|
| 2008-09 | £22,247,819
| £2,068,690 | £1,927,643
|
| 2009-10 | To be confirmed
| To be confirmed | To be confirmed
|
| 2010-11 | To be confirmed
| To be confirmed | To be confirmed
|
|
| * provision, not outturn, which is not available.
|
You should be aware that the Department for International
Development (DFID) is increasing its contribution to the CSFP,
as the Prime Minister announced at CHOGM in November 2007, and
that the Government's overall contribution will therefore be higher
this year and in each of the next two years than it was in 2007-08.
DFID's contribution this year is increasing by £1 million
to £15.93 million, increasing further in 2009-10 to £17.43
million and then in 2010-11 to £17.5 million.
Finally, you asked our response to Trudy Harpham's request
that we consider a detailed proposal from the Commonwealth Scholarship
Commission about the management of FCO-funded scholarships in
Commonwealth countries. I enclose a copy of my reply.
30 May 2008
|
