To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which British Council offices and facilities were closed (a) permanently and (b) temporarily (i) as a result of pressure from foreign governments and (ii) in other circumstances in each of the last two years. (183897)

No British Council offices were permanently closed as a result of pressure from foreign governments within the last two years. Operations have been suspended in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg since 17 January 2008 in the light of pressures from the Russian government.

As part of its global strategy and re-allocation of resources into priority regions, the British Council permanently closed three country offices and 29 facilities in 2006 and 16 facilities in 2007. There were no country closures in 2007.

The British Council offices temporarily closed in Gaza City (March to May 2006) and Beirut (July to September 2006) because of security concerns.