§ Mr. StreeterTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is her Department's expenditure or budgeted expenditure through the British Council for(a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99 and (c) 1999–2000. [77619]
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§ Clare ShortIn 1997–98 we provided a grant-in-aid of £29.8 million to support the British Council's development activities. In 1998–99 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) assumed responsibility for the Council's grant-in-aid and the resources set aside in the Department for International Development's (DFID) budget—some £30.3 million—have been transferred to the FCO.
The Council also undertakes work for DFID under contract arrangements, typically project management. In 1997–98 the value of contracts which they won was £28.7 million.