Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of changes in the number of staff at each grade and salary band which will be needed in his Department after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department for International Trade was established as a direct result of the referendum decision to leave the EU. The Department was established to secure UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment and championing free trade. Since the department’s formation in July 2016, we continue to keep departmental resources under review, which will need to remain flexible, dependant in part on the ongoing nature of the negotiations with the EU.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he plans to launch a specific graduate scheme for recruits to his Department.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
The Department for International Trade is an active participant in the Civil Service Fast Stream programme – the primary scheme for graduates looking to join the Civil Service. In building capability in the Department and for the Trade profession, all resourcing options are currently being explored.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the volume of British exports in the next 12 months?
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
The Office for Budget Responsibility, in their November 2017 Economic and fiscal outlook, estimates that real exports of UK goods and services will grow by 3.4 per cent in 2018.Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will make a statement on his Department’s strategy for trade with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
ASEAN member states accounted for over £32bn of UK trade in 2016. As we expand our global trade, it is vital that we work with businesses and governments to build on these important relationships.
We have a number of high-level strategic dialogues and working groups with ASEAN countries, and my department has made several ministerial visits in the last year, as have our three Trade Envoys who cover the ASEAN region.
We are recruiting Her Britannic Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for the Asia-Pacific region, which includes the ASEAN countries. The HMTC will oversee our trade and investment strategy for ASEAN and the wider region.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the cost to the public purse was of setting up and operating the Export Opportunities Portal.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
The cost of setting up and operating the current Export Opportunities service launched on 14 November 2016 as part of the great.gov.uk platform is estimated at £1.1 million to 31 October 2017. This cost was for design, build, content, hosting and security checking of the service.
Export opportunities published are gathered by our network of Embassy and High-Commission trade experts, as well as overseas partners as part of their overseas support for UK businesses.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many small and medium-sized enterprises have registered on the Export Opportunities Portal.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
There have been a number of versions of the Export Opportunities service over the years.
The current iteration, which is part of the great.gov.uk platform, was launched on 14 November 2016.
In the year from 14 November 2016 to 13 November 2017, 11,400 opportunities were published, which received 69,500 enquiries from 33,054 UK companies registered on Export Opportunities.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she plans to upgrade the Department’s website to attract more foreign investment.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
Great.gov.uk was launched in November 2017. The platform’s purpose is to help UK businesses secure their place on the global stage and present and promote the UK as a natural choice for overseas investment. DIT continuously monitors the site for opportunities to upgrade.
In addition, invest.great.gov.uk was launched in January 2017 and for China from February 2017.
invest.great.gov.uk targets investors in eight languages: from November 2016 in German, Chinese and English; from January 2017 in Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese; from February 2017 Arabic; and, French followed in February 2017.
Sector content is also updated regularly which now includes: Automotive, Creative, Health and Life Sciences, Energy, Financial Services, and Technology, with later additions in Retail, Food and Drink, Aerospace, and Advanced Manufacturing.
All content and features will be developed according to the processes outlined in the Government’s Digital Service Standard. We continuously research the needs of investors, iterate content and collect feedback to improve the service, as set out in the standard. As such, updates to ensure the site remains relevant are ongoing.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimates his Department has made of changes in staff levels needed to negotiate trade deals after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department is already increasing staff levels to support future trade negotiations.
Since July 2016 our Trade Policy Group has grown significantly from 45 to around 400 today. The Group includes lawyers, analysts, trade policy and country specialists drawn from across all relevant Government departments that will be involved in developing policy for and negotiating trade deals.