British Council
Debate between Lord Lemos and Baroness D'Souza
Lord Lemos (Lab)
The noble Baroness is right: the Erasmus programme is an important part of the work the Government are doing with Europe, and the British Council has a big role to play in that. That is not one of the British Council’s commercial activities, as I understand it—but I will correct that if I have got that wrong—and therefore will continue and will not be affected by the discussions about the loan.
Baroness D'Souza (CB)
My Lords, the £15 million interest, which is paid annually by the British Council because of the £200 million Covid debt, is bringing the British Council to its knees. Would the Government consider some creative solution to this debt—for example, by granting the British Council a holiday or delaying the payment of that £15 million interest debt until its financial situation becomes a bit better? As we know, it is struggling, and it is doing everything it can to restructure, which includes the letting go of a huge number of staff around the world. This is very much to the detriment of the long-term future of the British Council.
Lord Lemos (Lab)
As I said, the loan must comply with the UK Subsidy Control Act, but the Government have already made some concessions by extending it to 2027. The British Council submitted its turnaround plan in August 2025, and it has been independently reviewed. It is obviously highly commercially sensitive, and therefore I will not give a running commentary. However, as I am sure the noble Baroness will be pleased to hear, we hope that the FCDO will agree to restructuring the loan in the coming weeks.
Taiwan
Debate between Lord Lemos and Baroness D'Souza
Baroness D’Souza
To ask His Majesty’s Government what consideration they are giving to the need to take further steps to ensure democracy in Taiwan.
Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Lemos) (Lab)
My Lords, the UK’s long-standing position on Taiwan remains unchanged. The UK values Taiwan as an important partner with which we enjoy growing co-operation on trade and investment. We will continue to support democratic values, media freedom and civil society in Taiwan. As His Majesty’s Government stated in December, we will continue to underline the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo.
Baroness D’Souza (CB)
My Lords, the likely tactics, other than invasion, that China will use in its goal of incorporating Taiwan include grey-zone tactics, such as sabotage of infrastructure, cyber attacks to take down electricity grids, disruption of the internet by cutting undersea cables, aid to the opposition and, of course, military intimidation in the South China Sea. Resilience is vital to deterrence. What support are the UK Government providing to help build resilience to counter China’s expanding aggressive actions?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
My Lords, as I said, our long-standing position has not changed. The UK maintains strong unofficial links with Taiwan in trade, education, and science and innovation. We think those are the ways in which we can continue to help and support Taiwan and its resilience. For example, we conduct annual trade talks and semiconductor and energy dialogues. The most recent of those was in November 2025. We also have frequent ministerial visits. My right honourable friend Douglas Alexander visited Taiwan last year. In his recent visit to China—this goes to the point the noble Baroness made—the Prime Minister continued to advocate for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, emphasising that the UK opposes any unilateral changes in the status quo. He raised those points directly with President Xi.