§ Mr. WhitneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what extent the work of the British Council in direct English language teaching is self-financing, taking account of start-up costs of the ELT operation since the mid-1970s and all relevant overheads.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe work of the British Council in direct English language teaching is entirely self-financing. Students' fees cover all relevant costs, including overheads, and the surplus is used partly to reinvest in the business, partly to cover the business risk and partly to support the council's cultural and educational programmes as a return on earlier investment in start-up costs.