Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08 - Foreign Affairs Committee Contents


E-mail from Valerie Davey to the Chairman of the Committee

COMMONWEALTH SCHOLARSHIPS

  Greetings and very best wishes during what must be `challenging times' at Westminster. This a pre-2005 voice (Val Davey Bristol West), but having lost my seat then I have not lost my interest and commitment.

  One of the bodies I have remained linked to, then as a parl. co-chair and now as the exec. chair, is the Council for Education in the Commonwealth (CEC), www.cecomm.org.uk. It was set up in 1959 by a group of MPs following the first meeting of Commonwealth Ministers of Education in Oxford. Its membership has widened since then, but it still has a parl. base with three patrons in the Lords (Frank Judd, George Thomson, and we are at present seeking a replacement for Linda Chalker) and three co-chairs in the Commons (Tim Boswell. Sally Keeble and Simon Hughes). Its remit remains very similar, to support/be advocates for the extension of the range and quality of education across the Commonwealth.

  You can imagine therefore that we were amongst those dismayed to learn of the FCO decision, announced to the House on 13th March, to cut the Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships they fund in 2009 (£2.05 million annually) to the eight developed countries, Australia, Bahamas, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Malta, New Zealand and Singapore. In a series of answers to written questions in the House, the FCO has failed to substantiate the criticisms made in the statement, -- the selection. quality, outcomes have all been excellent. It would appear the review referred to applied to Chevening scholarships not Commonwealth scholarships.

  My feeling is that officers in the FCO thought this was an easy cut, take from the rich and give to the poor, without a real concept of the nature of the Commonwealth (ie it is more than an aid agency), failing to recognise the reciprocal nature of the scholarships by which British students benefit, and forgetting the contribution British universities make for these exceptionally highly qualified students.

  There are two ironies about the timing of this announcement. Less than two years ago when the Canadian Government proposed a similar cut we, the British Government and the Commonwealth bodies, appealed to them and they relented, -- a fact which I believe Gordon was reminded of by the Canadian Prime Minister recently. Also next year is the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of these scholarships, and there are plans by the Commonwealth Education Ministers to celebrate by extending them.

  As CEC members we have been working with representatives from the UK Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and others to ensure that well informed briefings are available to those who may influence the Government It seems so awful that our credibility and former standing within the Commonwealth on this issue should be jeopardized now

  I've been reluctant to approach you before now, as Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, but I do hope we can find a way out of this situation. I think the DIUS has been approached by the universities. Would you consider a one session hearing by the Committee into the nature—reasoning behind—outcomes of the FCO decision? Would it be useful? There is plenty of briefing material available, which I won't trouble you with now!

  Thank you for reading this long e-mail. I was not sure how much you would already know.

16 June 2008






 
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