Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2023 to Question 114753 on Department for International Trade: Public Expenditure, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the reduction of the Total Departmental Expenditure Limit; and whether she expects her Department to reduce its headcount in financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Spending Review 2021 provided a £67.6 million cash increase for the Department for International Trade (DIT) over the Spending Review period, enabling HMG to transform and digitise its services for exporters and investors, maintain increased capacity to secure world class free trade agreements and continue to support the rules-based international trading system. Sustainable DIT workforce plans for 2023-24 and 2024-25 will be finalised as part of the current annual business planning process.