HC Deb 10 July 1996 vol 281 c221W
Mrs. Lait

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that the British Council and the private sector compete on an equal basis in respect of teaching English as a foreign language. [36141]

Sir Nicholas Bonsor

The British Council does not teach English in this country and is not therefore in direct competition with English language schools in the UK. We try to ensure that so far as possible the Council's network of teaching centres overseas competes on an equal footing with the private sector by insisting that it operates on a self-funding basis and is not subsidised from the grants in aid from this Department.