Our work with parliament

Accountability to Parliament

We are regulated as a charity, incorporated by Royal Charter in 1941, and a Non-Departmental Public Body, strategically aligned with the UK’s long term foreign policy interests through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We are accountable to Parliament via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Foreign Affairs Committee

On 22 November 2011, Martin Davidson, Chief Executive, and Vernon Ellis, Chair, were called before the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee to give evidence on British Council activity in 2010/11 as part of the committee’s annual inquiry into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Performance and Finances.

You can listen to the session here.

The Foreign Affairs Committee is a parliamentary select committee composed of Members of Parliament, drawn from the three largest political parties. The House of Commons has entrusted this group of MPs with the task of monitoring the policy, administration and expenditure of the FCO and its associated public bodies, including the British Council and the BBC World Service.

More information on the committee

Engaging Parliamentarians with our work

British Council APG

The British Council All-Party Parliamentary Group is made up of MPs and Peers who work closely with us to keep their colleagues in Westminster up to date on the work of the British Council, and to offer advice and encouragement in both our everyday and long-term work.

Officers:

• Chair - Lord Bach
• Vice-Chairs - Baroness Grey-Thompson, Baroness Hooper, Huw Irranca Davies MP 
• Treasurer - Stephen Gilbert MP 
• Secretary - John Glen MP 

Meetings of the British Council All-Party Parliamentary Group are advertised in the All-Party Notices.

Aims

We work to inform parliamentarians in all the countries within the UK of the work of the British Council, aiming to highlight the impact of our work in Arts, Education, and the English language both across the globe and in the UK.

Involving parliamentarians in our work is a crucial part of building long-term and sustainable overseas relationships for the UK. Through interactive maps, letters and briefings, we are able to show policitians in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales our work in their constituencies. Every constituency in the UK now has links to projects with other countries, brokered by the British Council. Many of these are school links for young people or teachers, through schemes such as the International School Awards or Connecting Classrooms, which partners schools across the globe with schools throughout the UK.

We inform parliamentarians of the activity taking place in their constituency, via our UK Mapping tool. This enables users to find out about the UK organisations the British Council has worked with over the last year, and continues to be the most comprehensive view we’ve ever had of our work in the UK. Thanks to this mapping, we can say with certainty that, for the last two years, every parliamentary constituency across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales has had some form of British Council activity.

To further engage parliamentarians we:

• Hold briefings with guest speakers from the UK and abroad on various topics. Events such as these draw speakers from a variety of backgrounds, including academics, journalists, and government ministers 
• Organise one-to-one briefings with UK parliamentarians who have an interest in a particular area of work or a specific location or country 
• Facilitate the visit of UK parliamentarians  to the Council's overseas offices to witness the impact of our work first-hand 
• Co-ordinate debates in UK Parliaments on topical issues raised by our programmes 
• Provide evidence to relevant parliamentary select committees 
• Work to encourage UK parliamentarians to become British Council Ambassadors for the UK, in Parliament, and abroad

Expenses

The British Council proactively publishes the details of all visits made by Parliamentarians which we have funded or part-funded. This adheres with the Information Commissioner’s requirements for a broadening of the information published via our FOI Publication Scheme, and is in line with rules set out by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

Contact us

If you would like further information on our parliamentary activities you can contact our External Relations team on 020 7389 4879 or at parliamentaryaffairs@britishcouncil.org.