The Work of the British Council 2008-09 - Foreign Affairs Committee Contents


1 Introduction

1.  The Foreign Affairs Committee has conducted an annual inquiry into the FCO's expenditure plans and wider administrative matters since 1981. In 1991, Government departments first began publishing annual departmental reports setting out their work for that year and expenditure plans for the future. Since that time the Committee, like most other departmental select committees, has used the relevant Department's reports as a basis for its scrutiny of the Department's administration and expenditure. We also scrutinise the work of the non-departmental public bodies associated with the FCO, the British Council and the BBC World Service. In previous years, we have considered the annual reports of both organisations as part of our over-arching inquiry into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Departmental Annual Report. This year, we decided to publish separate reports on the work of the British Council and BBC World Service.

2.  The British Council is the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. Its purpose is to "build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide." As well as education, it runs programmes in the arts, science, sport, governance and English language from 110 countries and territories worldwide.[1] 2009 marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Council. It receives Grant-in-Aid from the FCO for its public diplomacy activity: £209 million 2008-09, a 6% increase from 2007-08.[2] The full-year grant income included a one-off £6 million 'Foreign Exchange Compensation Allowance' given by the FCO as partial relief against the impact of currency movements. Grant income represents approximately 32% of total income. For every £1 of government grant the British Council receives, £2.21 is earned from other sources.[3]

3.  The British Council's Annual Report was published in July 2009. We took oral evidence from Martin Davidson, Chief Executive, Gerard Lemos, Acting Chairman, and Sue Beaumont, Regional Director Near East and North Africa, on 4 November 2009 and also received written submissions.

Activities in 2008-09

4.  In 2008-09 the British Council carried out projects and programmes in over 100 countries. It also managed 14 contract programmes, each worth over £3 million, along with many smaller projects. In its memorandum the Council highlighted a range of activities undertaken in 2008-09 which it said achieved "real success and impact for the UK while responding to the global economic downturn".[4] These activities included:

  • 2,700 international school-to-school partnerships; teaching English to more than 300,000 people, generating £262 million income (a 30% increase on last year (2007-08));
  • delivering 2 million UK examinations and qualifications—earning £42 million in exports for UK exam boards; working with the state school system in West Bengal to improve English-language teaching for over 3 million young learners;
  • showcasing the best of the UK's creative and cultural talent at the Venice Biennale, supporting the focus on India at the London Book Fair and nurturing new talent in the UK's creative economy through the Young Creative Entrepreneurs programme;
  • improving educational and health outcomes for over 500,000 young people through International Inspiration, the 2012 sporting legacy programme.[5]



1   www.britishcouncil.org Back

2   British Council, Annual Report 2008-09, p. 95 Back

3   British Council, Annual Report 2008-09, p. 94 Back

4   Ev 10 Back

5   Ev 10 Back


 
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Prepared 4 February 2010