§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost of promoting British branding and identity overseas in the last year for which figures are available; and what element of this expenditure promotes(a) Welsh, (b) Scottish and (c) Irish branding and identity as a distinct component of that of the United Kingdom as a whole. [131944]
388W
§ Mr. MullinOur public diplomacy strategy aims to understand and improve foreign perceptions of the UK. It is overseen by a Public Diplomacy Strategy board made up of a number of government departments, the devolved administrations and other organisations which have an interest in the UK's "brand".
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) public diplomacy expenditure in Financial Year 2003–04 includes:
£1.9 million on a "Think UK" campaign in China, plus £360,000 for the development of campaigns in Central Europe (partnerships with accession states) and North America (UK Science and Technology) to run in 2004;A £2.4 million public diplomacy challenge fund which will support 81 projects in 51 different countries;£1.25 million for British Satellite News, supplying material to overseas broadcasters; £32. 35 million for scholarships to overseas students;£825,000 on a major FCO web infrastructure project, which includes www.i-uk.com; a central portal site to promote the UK overseas jointly with our public diplomacy partners (British Council, Trade Partners UK, Invest UK and VisitBritain);£797,201 on generic products, such as £292,461 on publications promoting the UK. Sums have also been allocated this FY for publications promoting specific regions:
- £12,750 on Scotland
- £25,300 on Wales
- £24,658 Northern Ireland
- £36,340 England
- £200,000 for public diplomacy activity promoting the UK's science and technology achievements overseas.
In addition, the FCO provides grant-in-aid of:
£166 million to the British Council£220 million to the BBC World ServiceOther than the publications on the Devolved Administrations, the FCO has not allocated separate expenditure for the promotion of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland overseas. However we actively encourage projects that promote their identity and they play an active role in our public diplomacy efforts, including participation in campaign steering groups as well as their representation on the Public Diplomacy Strategy Board.
Our worldwide network of Press and Public Affairs Officers also play an important role in promoting the UK identity overseas through their everyday work.