Written question asked by Claire Curtis-Thomas (Labour) on Wednesday, 26 October 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 1 November 2005. It was answered by Ian Pearson (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 November 2005 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

British Council

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the role that the British Council plays in promoting UK-based education programmes, with particular reference to engineering.

Answer: The British Council's Education UK Partnership helps UK education providers recruit overseas students for all the subjects they offer, including engineering. In 2003–04, 325,760 overseas students studied in higher education establishments in the UK. Of these, 15,310 were engineering students. This represents a 2.7 per cent. increase in engineering students on the previous year."[2003–04 is the latest year figures are available. Figures include students from the EU]"

Secondary information