Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will release the details of the commercial loan terms given to the British Council in 2020.

The UK Government provided the British Council access to a loan facility of £60 million in 2020, which was increased to £145 million in 2021, to enable the organisation to remain solvent and meet its minimum financial obligations in response to the impact of Covid on its exams and teaching business. The terms of this loan facility are commercially sensitive, however, the loan facility was made in line with the Market Economy Operator Principle with assessments conducted on the British Council's financial data and credit worthiness to ensure the terms are in line with those which a private operator would provide.