§ 4. Mr. FabricantTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what surveys he has conducted into the educational background of overseas customers of British manufactured goods and services; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Technology (Mr. Ian Taylor)We have not conducted any such surveys, but we are keen that overseas business men should develop a network of relations with the United Kingdom through education and training opportunities.
§ Mr. FabricantBefore I came to this place, was I the only exporter to find that many customers had been educated and trained in the United Kingdom? Does my hon. Friend agree that the provision of education and training for overseas visitors in the United Kingdom, by organisations such as the British Council and others, is not charity but an investment for British trade and industry?
§ Mr. TaylorMy hon. Friend is exactly right and that is precisely why the Department of Trade and Industry 137 has a series of programmes with the British Council and the Foreign Office to encourage people to come to this country for education and training. I urge British companies to do more, so that they assist the familiarisation process with British goods, which will eventually lead to further export opportunities.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursIf that is now so, what have the Government to say about the Foreign Office decision in the early 1980s to cut the very grants that are used to fund the education of overseas students coming to the United Kingdom? In so far as many Opposition Members thoroughly agree with the hon. Member for Mid-Staffordshire (Mr. Fabricant) on that issue, will the Government review that decision? Wherever one goes abroad, people in our overseas embassies repeatedly tell us that the restoration of those grants is critical to trade with the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. TaylorThe simple answer is that the number of overseas students in British universities and colleges of higher education is higher than it was when the grant changes were made. The reason for that is that the value to other people of the good education that they can get in this country is self-evident and it is not merely put down to cost.
§ Mr. Ian BruceDoes my hon. Friend agree that it is the quality of British education and its representation around the world that sells it, not subsidies? What is his Department doing to ensure that British educational exports, of both products and services, receive the full backing that they need through our embassy and consulate network?
§ Mr. TaylorWe have established a whole network of overseas technical advisers in embassies and they are doing an excellent job, especially in the technical field, in ensuring that the advantages of British education and products are known. The export value of educational services is about £4 billion a year, which shows how important and successful that sector is to British performance overall.