John Baron MP condemns British Council closures in Estimates Day Debate

MP: These are largest closures in British Council’s history

Yesterday in the House of Commons, John Baron MP led an Estimates Day debate on the British Council following a successful application to the Back Bench Business Committee supported by a list of MPs who had also signed the letter to the Prime Minister condemning the closure of 20 British Council overseas offices.

In the House of Commons, John said,

“Our campaign, which has included a letter to the Prime Minister signed by well over 100 colleagues, which still has not been answered, relates to the fact that, despite generous Government support to see the British Council through the pandemic, it is still £10 million short of what it requires to keep or maintain its international network of offices, and this will result in the largest single set of closures in the British Council’s proud 90-year history.”

“Let us be clear that these closures are not operational matters left to the British Council. As the Foreign Secretary’s letter to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee confirmed, these closures have been required by the FCDO and have been the subject of close ministerial involvement. Indeed, the FCDO has listed the 20 offices to be closed, as defined by the removal of a country director and staff.”

“Let us also be clear that, although the FCDO is right that we should be alive to innovations such as remote working and digitalisation, the British Council would not be going down this road on this scale but for the current financial situation. The fact that other countries are increasing their global footprint indicates that they believe there remains great value in having a presence on the ground. China, for example, is planning to open a further 1,000 Confucius Institutes over the coming years. There is no better substitute for a physical presence on the ground, to understand the country in question, and such a presence might have averted some of our foreign intervention errors.”

“Finally, I thank the many colleagues who have supported our campaign to get the Government to think again, including the hundred who signed our letter. I ask the Minister to bear this in mind in future considerations with regard to the British Council.”

Notes to Editors:

• John’s full speech is available online at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-06-30/debates/11FEA079-C88F-4423-B833-792CCA2219A1/OfficialDevelopmentAssistanceAndTheBritishCouncil#contribution-57B8A767-7469-4D4A-A7DD-524AAEE43ADE.