Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support British soft power overseas.

The Integrated Review highlighted the importance of building positive perceptions of the UK, creating strong people-to-people links and familiarity with our values; and it sets out the Government’s role in this area. The FCDO continues to fund projects and programmes that promote ‘brand Britain’ for the long term, including the British Council, BBC World Service and our Chevening, Marshall and Commonwealth scholarships. Our international leadership on important international issues is an important part of how others perceive the UK, as we are seeing through our hosting of the G7 and COP26, and our support for a globally accessible Covid-19 vaccine.