L

Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Lemos) (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 9 June 2026

Debate

British Council

Contribution

My Lords, I declare my interest: I was a board member of the British Council for 12 years—an unbroken record, I am told—many of them as a trustee, deputy chair and as acting chair. The Government have increased funding for the British Council, and we are allocating it £173 million grant in aid per year until 2028-29. In addition, we have provided a one-off cash injection of £10 million this year to support the British Council to restructure its grant-funded operations, in line with its financial turnaround plan. We have also agreed to the British Council retaining the proceeds of asset sales of £60 million. These are significant increases, from the 2024-25 baseline of £162.5 million, when this Government took office. This is a very positive settlement for the British Council in what all noble Lords know are challenging fiscal circumstances.

More from Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Lemos) (Lab)

Other recent Hansard contributions by the same speaker.

About Hansard

Hansard is the official verbatim record of proceedings in the UK Parliament. Every word spoken in the Commons and Lords is recorded and published — this page is a single contribution from that record.

Partner sites