Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the British Council has adequate funding to effectively promote (a) Scottish and (b) wider UK (i) education and (ii) arts.

As an Arms Length Body, the British Council is operationally independent. They set out their plans in their Annual Corporate Plan. The Government is committed to a successful British Council that is financially stable. Our funding to the British Council underlines our support. FCDO will provide the British Council with £162.5 million Grant-in-Aid in 2024/25. Funding for 2025/26 will be announced in due course.