§ Dame Judith Hartasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the effects of overseas inflation on the costs of British Council representation overseas in 1984–85, compared with 1983–84; and what account he took of this in his statement on 17 November.
§ Mr. WhitneyNo independent estimate was made by my Department. The estimate taken into consideration in the 1983 public expenditure survey was the British Council's own.
The level of public expenditure for 1984–85 announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 17 November included an additional £4.3 million for the British Council. This is less than the Council had sought but it must be seen in the context of our financial strategy and determination that public expenditure for 1984–85 should remain at the level published in the White Paper for February 1983.