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Written Question
Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023
Monday 14th July 2025

Asked by: Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential economic growth generated by the full utilisation of the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023, and what steps they are taking to fully utilise that Act.

Answered by Baroness Gustafsson

The Electronic Trade Documents Act’s Impact Assessment estimates that electronic trade documents (ETDs) could generate £1.1bn over a decade by reducing trade costs, accelerating transactions, and improving access to trade finance, particularly for SMEs.

To support ETD uptake, we have recently launched several initiatives in the Trade Strategy. This includes plans to establish Digital Trade Corridors with key European markets, setting up an SME Capability Programme to help smaller firms adopt digital trade tools, and launching an ETD Information Hub on Business.Gov.UK to support businesses transition. We are also promoting international legal reform on ETDs through bilateral and multilateral engagement.

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"My Lords, I too pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Woodley, for all that he has done, is doing and, I am sure, will continue to do to try to remedy the kind of injustice that he has outlined.

Before I turn to the options put before us, I …..."
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech

View all Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Imprisonment for Public Protection (Re-sentencing) Bill [HL]
Speech in Lords Chamber - Fri 06 Jun 2025
Crown Estate (Wales) Bill [HL]

"..."
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech

View all Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Crown Estate (Wales) Bill [HL]
Speech in Lords Chamber - Fri 06 Jun 2025
Crown Estate (Wales) Bill [HL]

"My Lords, I will be brief. I separated out this amendment because it deals with an issue we too often neglect when we speak about devolution: the working of the union. It seems to me that the debate on the previous amendments brought into clear focus a failure to distinguish …..."
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech

View all Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Crown Estate (Wales) Bill [HL]
Speech in Lords Chamber - Fri 06 Jun 2025
Crown Estate (Wales) Bill [HL]

"I will briefly reply. There is a difference between what I have put forward and what the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, suggests.

I thank everyone for listening patiently to what I had to say. I believe that, at the end of the day, as one sees across the world, we …..."
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech

View all Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Crown Estate (Wales) Bill [HL]
Speech in Lords Chamber - Fri 06 Jun 2025
Crown Estate (Wales) Bill [HL]

"I shall speak to the amendments in my name. By way of background, we have had the benefit of the noble Baroness, Lady Harris of Richmond, speaking about what makes this issue what I would describe ultimately as a hearts-and-minds issue. The acquisition of the Crown Estate in Wales by …..."
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech

View all Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Crown Estate (Wales) Bill [HL]
Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 04 Jun 2025
Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill

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Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech

View all Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill
Division Vote (Lords)
4 Jun 2025 - Data (Use and Access) Bill [HL] - View Vote Context
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (XB) voted Aye and in line with the House
One of 51 Crossbench Aye votes vs 2 Crossbench No votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 221 Noes - 116
Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 02 Jun 2025
Independent Sentencing Review

"My Lords, I too add to the welcome that has been given to David Gauke’s review and the Government’s response to it. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Baker, when he said, “Let us try to approach this in a non-political manner”, but I fear that is probably pie …..."
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech

View all Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Independent Sentencing Review
Division Vote (Lords)
2 Jun 2025 - Data (Use and Access) Bill [HL] - View Vote Context
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (XB) voted Aye and in line with the House
One of 57 Crossbench Aye votes vs 4 Crossbench No votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 242 Noes - 116