§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many posts he estimates will be lost in the British Council over the next three years; and at what United Kingdom locations; [24912]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of posts within the British Council which will be lost by redundancy over the next three years; and at what cost. [24913]
§ Mr. HanleyFollowing the recent public expenditure survey settlement, the British Council is still discussing with us its proposal for future manpower levels and for the distribution of resources.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the British Council has to close United Kingdom offices within the next three years. [24898]
§ Mr. HanleyThe British Council is looking at options for further restructuring its UK network. This could involve the closure of some offices.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what were the annual budgets for the British Council for(a) 1994–95, (b) 1995–96 and (c) 1996–97; and what are the projected budgets for (i) 1997–98 and (ii) 1998–99. [24910]
§ Mr. HanleyThe information is as follows:
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the current United Kingdom staffing levels within the British Council by location. [24915]
§ Mr. HanleyThe latest figures available for the British Council United Kingdom staffing levels, including the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges, are as follows:
543W
Area Number of staff London 1700.00 Manchester 1498.00 Belfast 13.50 Edinburgh 19.00
Area Number of staff Glasgow 6.50 Aberdeen 1.00 Dundee 2.00 Cardiff 6.00 Aberystwyth 0.25 Bangor 0.50 Swansea 0.25 Cambridge 2.50 Colchester 0.50 Norwich 0.50 Nottingham 2.00 Loughborough 2.00 Birmingham 2.50 Southampton 1.00 Brighton 1.00 Guildford 0.50 Canterbury 1.00 Bristol 3.00 Plymouth 1.00 Oxford 3.00 Reading 2.00 Newcastle 3.00 Leeds 2.00 Hull 0.50 Huddersfield 1.00 Sheffield 0.50 Total 1,277.50 1These figures are full time staff equivalents paid through Chessington Computer Centre, February 1996. 1. Numbers of posts in all the regions have been taken from the April 1996 UK regional directory.