Speeches by Whittingdale.

“I have a couple of questions about the loan. During covid, I was a Minister in the DCMS, which handed out grants to a huge range of commercial organisations through the cultural recovery fund. You are very clear that there was no way in which that could not be a repayable loan rather than a grant.”

“But essentially there are two competing objectives. You say that the combination strengthens the British Council, but does it not create a tension? The parts of the world or the countries where you are most likely to generate significant returns are probably not those in which it is most important that we exert influen…”

“It would help, yes.”

“Was that through the sale of the—”

“Arguably, that is exactly what is happening next door to you in the Foreign Office.”

“I will start with a broader question, perhaps to both the FCDO and the British Council. Do you see the British Council as essentially a vehicle for British soft power to extend British influence in contested areas of the world, which is supported by the Foreign Office and also by commercial income raised through its te…”

“From looking at the repayment that has already taken place, I see that none of the capital has been repaid but considerable sums have been given back in interest. That is going to continue throughout the remaining term of the loan—”

“How much trapped cash does that release?”

“When you and I have spoken previously, with me wearing my other hat in the FAC, there was talk about the trapped cash being utilised for other Foreign Office expenditure in country. Is that still a possibility?”

“Right, and otherwise the loan is not going to be repaid for some time but the interest is going to go on clocking up.”

“Could you draw up two different columns? In one, you would have countries such as France and Italy: well-developed, active democracies where the British Council is active and, I hope, generating lots of money, but where it is probably not a huge priority to have British influence. Against that, you would have countries…”

“May I thank you, Chair, and the PAC for allowing me to guest this morning?”

“Indeed. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Can Minister state what assessment he has made of the grades of steel that are simply not produced in this country? What is his message to companies such as C&M Precision Ltd in my constituency, and all those mentioned this afternoon, that face an immediate increase in their…”

“I am pleased to support the revival motion before the House today. It is about 11 months since I moved Second Reading of the Bill last year. At that stage, it had already completed its passage through the House of Lords, and it was given a Second Reading without opposition. It then went into the Committee on unopposed …”

“I will make a couple of points to my hon. Friend. As I have said, I not only served as a trustee, but sat on what is called the conflicts committee. The conflicts committee has a majority of independent members—not of seat holders—and it is there to ensure that any decisions taken are done properly. While it may be the…”

“I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on his appointment and welcome the action in the channel. He will be aware that last night saw one of the biggest attacks yet on civilian buildings and people in Kyiv, and included damage to the historic cathedral there. He will also be aware that dual-use technology is still arr…”

“Will the right hon. Lady give way?”

“We are talking about very few events where tickets are sold at a much greater price than their face value. There will be some. The problem with what the hon. Gentleman suggests is that, at the end of the day, we are talking about somebody’s right as a legal owner of a property to decide what to do with it. The seat hol…”

“I should add that while the Government gave the hall £20 million as a loan, as it gave loans to so many institutions across the country, the seat holders—the members of the Royal Albert Hall —put in £2 million above and beyond what they had to provide under the arrangements normally, as support. The seat holders have b…”

“I think the hall’s representatives would be only too happy to talk to the hon. Gentleman and the right hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry); indeed, they have asked to speak to her several times, without success. As has been pointed out, this is a very narrow Bill—it has a very restrictive ti…”