By IRNA,
London : The Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday called on the British Council to concentrate its efforts on its core business and key objectives in the face of continuing cutbacks.
“These are difficult and challenging times for the British Council and the job losses are regrettable,” chair of the all-party group of MPs, Mike Gapes, warned.
“In 2009 the British Council began a programme of staff cuts, which upon completion, is likely to result in a loss of approximately a third of the Council’s UK workforce,” Gapes said.
“2010 will also be a difficult year for the British Council and further cuts in staff numbers and services may be unavoidable,” he said in launching a parliamentary report on the work of the Foreign Office’s cultural arm.
The report comes as the British Council has already started to refocus its priorities away from Europe to other areas of the world, including increased investment in China.
It also follows the closure of offices in Russia, Zimbabwe and Iran in the wake of diplomatic disputes and concerns about their operations.
“We conclude that the lack of progress towards a Cultural Centres Agreement in Russia is regrettable, and recommend that the Government and the British Council continue to seek a resolution to this long-standing issue,” the parliamentary committee said.
It also recommended that the Foreign Office “take all steps necessary to support the British Council in its efforts to resume its important work in Iran” and to support the “British Council’s efforts to re-establish itself in Zimbabwe.”
The report also criticised the council’s performance “in relation to quality of service, particularly in that relating to engagement with decision makers and senior influencers,” saying that its scores give “cause for concern.”
“We recommend that, in its response to this report, the Council should set out the steps it is taking to investigate the reasons for these declining scores, and give its view of the implications of these trends for future Council policy,” it said.