British Council Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Thursday 26th March 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Chris Elmore)]

The British Council is an important international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities for the UK. It supports peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. It does this by uniquely combining the UK’s deep expertise in arts and culture, education and the English language, its global presence and relationships, and its unparalleled access to young people and influencers around the world.

With a total reach of 598 million people in 2024-25, the British Council creates mutually beneficial relationships between the people of all four nations of the UK and other countries. Such connections, based on an understanding of each other’s strengths and shared values, build an enduring trust. This helps strengthen the UK’s global reputation and influence, encouraging people from around the world to visit, study, trade and make alliances with the UK.

In 2024-25 the British Council received £162.5 million core grant in aid from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and even in tight fiscal circumstances, that core grant was maintained at that level in 2025-26. On 19 March 2026, as part of the FCDO’s allocation of official development assistance funding for the next three years, it was announced that ODA funding for the British Council would be protected at its current levels up to the end of 2028-29, while non-ODA funding will be increased by £40 million over the same period. This supports our objective of a financially sustainable British Council for the long term.

This funding settlement—against a backdrop of substantial cuts that have had to be made in other FCDO-funded programmes—is also a recognition of the continuing financial pressures facing the British Council, including in relation to repayment of its loan from HM Treasury, and the underlying need to update the organisation’s business model. The British Council has put forward a financial turnaround plan, and the FCDO has commissioned an independent review of that plan, and the British Council’s cash-flow position, to provide a robust evidence base for future decision making in this area. FCDO officials are also engaging constructively and on an ongoing basis with the British Council Board and executive to work through the findings.

Copies of the British Council’s annual report and accounts for the 2024-25 financial year have been placed in the library of both Houses. The annual report can also be found at the British Council’s website:

www.britishcouncil.org/about-us/how-we-work/corporate-reports

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