British Council
Debate between Lord Lemos and Baroness Kennedy of Shaws
Lord Lemos (Lab)
The British Council regularly reviews its estate, and it will continue to do so. The issue of soft power and Britain’s international reputation is about outcomes; it is not only about property. I have no doubt that, as part of the turnaround plan—and I will be straightforward about this—the British Council will have to review its estate, but it will continue to do its excellent work on cultural relations.
Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws (Lab)
My Lords, I had the great privilege, from 1998 until 2004, of being the chair of the British Council. Sometimes, it is useful to draw on one’s institutional memory. The reason that the British Council was set up in the middle of the 1930s was to share British values, as we saw the rise of fascism and Nazism across Europe. I just remind noble Lords that, as well as being a torch-bearer for our culture and language, it is also a torch-bearer for our values. Is that being understood by the Government and by the new arrivals in the Commons? Not very many of them will know that the British Council has been at the heart of promoting democracy, the rule of law and many other things and aspects of our culture.
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I entirely agree with my noble friend, and I was proud to be her deputy chair at the British Council. It is absolutely true that the British Council represents Britain’s values, and that helps with our standing in the world. In order to reinforce my noble friend’s point, I will draw attention to two of the British Council’s excellent programmes. The British Council continues to manage £78 million of scholarships —Chevening, Marshall and Commonwealth scholarships. Exactly in the way that my noble friend described, the British Council has a very big programme with Ukrainian schools, of which it should be extremely proud.