Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)

I completely agree about the role of the BBC in soft power, particularly the World Service and BBC Verify, which do a tremendous job. I would go so far as to say that they are saving lives every day with the work that they do. On the issue of art, it is right that the British Council makes these decisions. If it wishes to dispose of assets—it has assets other than an art collection, of course—that is its decision. I am not suggesting that it does this. The council came to me previously with that suggestion. If there is a way for the British Council to avoid doing this, which would be its preference, it is well within the council’s powers to make that choice. There is no pressure from anyone I can see to make the council make a particular decision. However, the British Council would agree that it must get itself on a stable footing. We must make an agreement with the Treasury on the loan, and we will do that. Terms should have been agreed when the loan was made. Other people will have to explain why that was not done, but it needs to be addressed. Even if the loan is taken out of the equation, there must be a stable financial footing for the British Council, with a modern vision for the future of its activities, because it is vital. We will work with it to make sure that that happens, but it needs to take responsibility for this too.