British Council threatened by spiralling government debt
The UK’s body for cultural relations and international education, which operates on-the-ground in over 100 countries, has called on the government for financial support as it faces £250 million in budget cuts and hundreds of potential staff cuts.
“We know the UK government values the British Council, but without this support, we may see something our friends and partners around the world might think is inconceivable – a world without the UK’s greatest international cheerleader, a world without the British Council,” the organisation’s CEO Scott McDonald posted on X.
The British Council, an independent body, earns 85% of its income from commercial activities including English language teaching and exams.
The remaining 15% comes from UK government funding, a much lower share than France and Germany’s outreach agencies, which receive over half of their income from public sources.
Along with IDP Education and Cambridge English, the British Council holds an equal one-third share in IELTS, one of the most prominent global English language tests which delivered over four million tests globally in 2023.
The organisation is credited with strengthening the UK’s reputation and influence, encouraging people to visit and study in the UK, as well as forging global alliances.
“A British Council that is in retreat is a blow to the UK in the competition for influence on the world stage,” a spokesperson for the institution told The PIE.
A British Council that is in retreat is a blow to the UK in the competition for influence on the world stage
British Council
The British Council supports international student recruitment through its Study UK Campaign, with 40,000 plus individuals using its alumni platform.
Its Agent Quality Framework has trained and certified over 34,000 registered education agents and last year alone it supported nearly 500 transnational education (TNE) partnerships globally.
“We have no shareholders, so all profits are ploughed back into our work building international relationships for the UK,” said McDonald, warning that operations in 40 countries could face closure in order to secure the Council’s future.
McDonald’s comments on X came just after he was appointed to the government’s newly formed UK Soft Power Council, announced alongside a £60m funding boost for creative industries.
Much of the British Council’s financial instability comes from a Covid-era government loan of £197m, without a pre-defined repayment plan.
Interest on the loan is now costing the Council around £14m each year.
“We really need help on that loan. The government’s got to turn it into something viable for us, and at reasonable terms. And they’ve got to start funding us so that we can do more around the world,” McDonald told The Guardian.
Without financial support from the government, the Council would be “in real danger of disappearing, probably over a period of a decade,” said McDonald.
“And I don’t think I’m saying this just for headlines, I think it’s really true,” he added.
It is understood that McDonald offered the Council’s collection of art valued at £200m to the government in exchange for writing off the loan, though the offer was not accepted.
“Due to its commercial activities, the British Council is legally subject to subsidy controls, ensuring fair and free market competition in the market, and we remain committed to recovering the loan once their finances allow,” a spokesperson for the Foreign Office told The PIE.
In 2021, the British Council sold its Indian IELTS operation to IDP for £130m. While commentators have speculated about the selling of another outpost to secure the Council’s future, no plans of the sort have been suggested by the body.
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