British Council (Hansard, 27 June 2002)

§ Mr. Wyatt
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent activities the British Council has undertaken in other European countries on combating racism and intolerance. [64678]

§ Mr. MacShane
The British Council has been involved in a number of initiatives, helping bring together local authorities, NGOs and others in the UK and in Italy, Sweden, France, Denmark, Germany and Belgium for exchanges on tolerance and diversity. These have included seminars and conferences covering issues such as local government practice, citizenship education, and managing cultural diversity in schools.

§ Mr. Wyatt
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of work undertaken by the British Council in(a)promoting human rights, (b)leadership training, (c) strengthening civil society and (d)providing support for non-governmental sectors in Africa in preparation for the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa's Development. [64676]

§ Mr. MacShane
The British Council plays a distinctive public diplomacy role in Africa which complements the work of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development. The council builds people to people partnerships to support change from within—an approach consistent with the thinking behind the New Partnership for Africa's Development initiative.

§ Mr. Wyatt
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the expansion of British Council activities in Russia in the past two years. [64681]

§ Mr. MacShane
The British Council opens its 14th centre in Russia this week in Rostov-on-Don. The extension of the Council's regional network in Russia in1028W recent years has played an important role in helping extend UK reach and influence there. Additionally, 200–300 people per day are already visiting the Council's web portal, launched in March; the portal provides access to 70,000 British sites and is targeted at the younger generation.

§ Mr. Wyatt
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent work the British Council has done to meet the demand from young people in China for contact with the United Kingdom. [64679]

§ Mr. MacShane
The British Council has been very active and successful in promoting educational links with China. The number of Chinese students in higher and further education, and in schools in this country in 2001 was 50,000, an increase of 30 per cent. The FCO Chevening scholarship scheme, adminstered by the British Council, brought 177 postgraduates to the UK in the academic year 2000–01, an increase of 29 students on the previous year. Under a DfES funded programme managed by the Council, school links increased from 20 to 80.
Together with the BBC World Service and China's Open University, the Council launched its "in2english" project which reaches 250,000 teachers and students of English in China. 58,000 candidates sat English languages tests in some 20 cities in 2001, an increase of 100 per cent. on the previous year. 30 schools in the UK now teach Chinese.

§ Mr. Wyatt
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the findings are of the British Council's Connecting Futures research into attitudes towards the United Kingdom in the Arab and Muslim worlds; and if he will make a statement. [64682]

§ Mr. MacShane
Overall the results of the Connecting Futures research confirm a favourable attitude towards the UK among young people in the Arab and Muslim world, with 63 per cent. of those polled placing the UK high on their list of favourite nations. A high regard for British education and admiration for the consistently strong British economic performance were the two positive messages cited most often by respondents. Full details of the research findings are available via the internet at www.britishcouncil.org/connectingfutures.
The research will be valuable in informing FCO and British Council efforts to further improve and build mutually beneficial relationships between these countries and the UK.

§ Mr. Wyatt
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress the British Council has made in promoting United Kingdom science abroad; and if it will increase its levels of funding for the promotion of excellence of UK science internationally. [64677]

§ Mr. MacShane
The British Council's recent work in this area has included the initiation of new UK collaboration with India in digital technology, biotechnology, the environment and medical research. Partnerships with broadcasting organisations have also enabled the Council to reach significantly wider audiences in promoting UK science in Hungary, Japan and Malaysia.
1029W
The British Council is committed to increasing its share of Foreign and Commonwealth Office grant-in-aid funding to science from £5.4 million in 2001–02 to £8 million in 2003–04. This funding will be used to project UK science as innovative and internationally competitive, and to promote understanding in science in society, raising awareness of scientific themes of importance to the UK abroad.