The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
We are committed to managing risk and to embedding risk management in all areas of our work.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate accountability for ensuring that the British Council manages risk effectively. The Board approves the British Council’s Statement of Risk Appetite and reviews the effectiveness of its risk and control processes.
The British Council is committed to:
- embedding a culture of risk management to ensure informed decision making and ownership of risk is recognised throughout the organisation
- identifying, understanding and assessing risks to the achievement of its objectives and plans and controlling them effectively
- ensuring that its risk management is aligned with the Statement of Risk Appetite approved by the Board of Trustees
- planning and taking action to respond to risks outside our appetite, while ensuring our resources are effectively and efficiently prioritised and used
- monitoring both the effectiveness of the existing control environment and the approach to risk management, reporting on risks, mitigation plans, and control environments both internally and externally and learning lessons from past activities
- ensuring that all staff understand their responsibilities in relation to risk management
- recognising that we may need to proactively take some risks to support the achievement of our objectives, but we will do so with an understanding of their potential impact on the organisation.
We will provide adequate and appropriate resources to implement this global policy statement and will ensure it is communicated and understood.
The British Council will review this global policy statement annually to reflect new legal and regulatory developments and ensure good practice.
This global policy statement was approved by Scott McDonald, Chief Executive, in April 2024 and is due for review in March 2025.