Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse has been of the GREAT campaign since its re-launch in 2021.

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign is the UK’s international brand marketing campaign, which works closely with UK businesses, not-for-profit organisations and high-profile figures to promote the best of the UK abroad. Since 2021/22, the GREAT campaign has had an annual overall budget of circa £60m (2021/22: £60m; 2022/23: £57.12m; and 2023/24: £57.12m). The results of individual GREAT campaigns vary but, on average, externally verified analysis shows £1 of GREAT spend on marketing generates £15 for the UK by encouraging people to visit, study, trade, invest, live and work in the UK.

Encouraging prospective international students to choose to study in UK higher education institutions brings strong return on investment. For example, the GREAT Study UK campaign generated £407m in 2021/22 and £548m in 2022/23 (specifically from international students studying for up to three years in the UK). The 2023/24 results are currently being verified and are expected by June 2024.