British Council: Closures

(asked on 22nd June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has of the potential effect of closing British Council overseas offices on the (a) UK’s soft power capabilities and the (b) Government’s Global Britain agenda.


Answered by
Nigel Adams Portrait
Nigel Adams
This question was answered on 28th June 2021

Despite the difficult financial situation, we have increased funding to the British Council by 27% this year, to £189 million. We have provided loans of up to £245 million to support them through the pandemic.

The British Council will also need to change to make the most impact in a changing world - especially in digitising its operations. We continue to support its leading role in promoting the English language and UK arts, culture and education in more than 100 countries.

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