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National Audit Office Press Notice

The British Council: Achieving Impact

THIS STATEMENT IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST BEFORE 0001 HOURS ON WEDNESDAY 11TH JUNE 2008

Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General
HC 625 2007-2008
11 June 2008
ISBN: 9780102954173
Price: £13.90

The British Council has been flexible in moving its attention and resources to match new UK priorities, particularly in the Islamic World and the Far East. It continues to implement numerous and extensive internal changes aimed at increasing its effectiveness and efficiency, though delivery of projects and change has been uneven across its global network.

The Council’s approach to measuring its performance is well developed. Its scorecard shows positive results across most aspects of activity, including audience sizes, customer satisfaction scores, and the perceptions of stakeholders and partners.

The Council increasingly depends on contributions from external partners and commercial sponsors, to expand its activities and impacts. This will mean reversing the downward trend in sponsorship and other contributions of the last six years.

The Council has recognised the importance of good customer service, but it is not yet meeting the standards it sets for itself across the whole network. It also needs to implement a customer database to enable it to track customer contacts and better understand its audiences.

The British Council’s £181 million English language teaching and examinations business has a strong reputation and more than covers its costs. The teaching operation also supports UK public diplomacy, notably by helping overseas governments expand the teaching of English in their schools and colleges.

But the teaching business has a high cost base, charges premium prices, and has limited reach outside overseas capital cities. Although there has been an increase in the numbers of students taught, the network of teaching centres has contracted in recent years. To continue to grow the business, the Council will need to put into action its ideas about alternative lower-cost ways to deliver good quality teaching.

Tim Burr, head of the National Audit Office, said today:

"The British Council's work is valued by its customers and stakeholders. It faces a difficult challenge in delivering a wide range of products and services in 110 countries worldwide. High performance in some areas such as performance measurement and customer satisfaction needs to expand across every strand of activity. Project and programme management need to be strengthened and customer relationship systems and service standards enhanced."

Notes for Editors

  1. The British Council exists to build mutually beneficial relationships between people in the United Kingdom and other countries, and to increase appreciation of the UK’s creative ideas and achievements. It is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. In 2006/2007 it received £195 million of public money, mainly from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and earned a further £350 million principally by teaching English, delivering examinations overseas and managing client-funded contracts.
  2. This report arose from a request by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons that the National Audit Office examine the Value for Money of the British Council. A further report, on how the British Council manages its finances, estate, procurement, human resources, IT, and internal changes, is also published today on the NAO website.
  3. Public diplomacy is the process through which a country communicates with citizens in other societies. Effective public diplomacy starts from the premise that dialogue, rather than public relations, is central to improving understanding of and influence for the UK in line with the goals of foreign policy.
  4. Press notices and reports are available from the date of publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk. Hard copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
  5. The Comptroller and Auditor General, Tim Burr, is the head of the National Audit Office which employs some 850 staff. He and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which departments and other bodies have used their resources.

Press Notice 27/08
All enquiries to Phil Groves, NAO Press Office: Tel: 020 7798 5339
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