British Council

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, we welcome today the vice-chair of the British Council as a new Labour Peer. We on these Benches look forward to robust defence of the British Council from the Government Benches. This is a Covid loan. The loss that the British Council made was due to Covid and the drying-up of English language teaching. There are many other Covid loans outstanding. Many of them were fraudulent, as we know; this clearly was not. The Government will struggle to recover some of those others. This was clearly an honest loan made in honest circumstances. Can we not treat this in that context, while the Government perhaps work harder on recovering other Covid loans which are a great deal less honest?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I will not get into the issue of the other Covid loans, because it is beyond my remit. The noble Lord talks about defending the British Council. There is no need to defend the British Council from this Government; we are strong allies, supporters, friends and protectors of the British Council. The British Council will thrive under this Government. However, it is right that we are going through the process that we are now to make sure that the British Council is as strong as it can be going forward and that it can adapt to face its current challenges, needs and demands. The noble Lord is absolutely right to mention that our dear and noble friend Lady Alexander, who is currently the vice-chair of the British Council, will soon be joining us on these Benches.

[Noble Lords]

She is here.

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I know she was introduced today. I had assumed that she was having a cup of tea or something, but I see she is here. Fantastic. It is even better that she is here to witness the strength of feeling and support from across this House for the British Council. We welcome her with warm hearts.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, the Government should be commended for setting up the Soft Power Council, but, for the last 90 years, the British Council has been a vital component of the way in which this country projects its values and influence around the world. A powerful example of this is the current photography exhibition in Portcullis House, which comes from the British Council’s season of culture between the UK and Ukraine. In our debate on Thursday on the creative industries, I asked whether, rather than forcing the British Council to sell off the artworks that it has collected over nearly a century, the Government might look at the acceptance in lieu scheme. Those debts could then be offset but these artworks could be kept and shared with the public here in the UK and around the world. Is that something that the Foreign Office has discussed with DCMS or the British Council?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I should make it very clear that nobody is forcing the British Council to make any decision in any direction about its art collection. As I understand it, around half of that is covenanted anyway and could not be sold. There is a decision to be made, and it is right for the British Council—I would defend it on this—to look at other assets and make a decision. What that decision should be is not for me to say, but I support at least looking at that option. Does Rachel Reeves want to be paid in art? I very much doubt it. What is important is that we are able to move forward, alongside the British Council, and that it is strengthened and can get the loan on a sustainable footing, look at where its income streams are coming from, and ensure that it can grow and be strong in the future.