Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he plans to seek the inclusion of investor protection clauses in trade agreements that he transposes with (a) Canada and (b) Japan.
Answered by George Hollingbery
This Government is engaged in a technical exercise to replicate as far as possible the effects of current EU trade agreements. We are working with our Canadian partners to transition investment provisions and ensure they work in the context of our bilateral relationship. The EU-Japan EPA does not include investment protection provisions and has already been voted on in Parliament, and will come into force on the 1st February.
The Department engages widely with businesses, civil society, and other stakeholders, and will continue to do so as it works with partners to seek continuity in current trade relationships.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January to Question 210049 on Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia, what the dates were of the three compliance audits in relation to Open Individual Export Licences granted to BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd for which Saudi Arabia was the end user.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The compliance visit dates were, 17 July 2014, 30 September 2015 and 05 April 2017.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many compliance audits have been undertaken in relation to the Open Individual Export Licences granted to BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd on (a) 5 December 2013 for Storm Shadow air-to-surfaces missiles, (b) 5 March 2014 for Paveway Guided Bombs and (c) 21 August 2018 for Brimstone air-to-surface missiles for which Saudi Arabia was the end user country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
There have been 3 compliance audits in relation to Open Individual Export Licences granted to BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd, for which Saudi Arabia was the end user country, since the first licence referred to was granted on 5 December 2013.
Our records show that the licence for export of Brimstone air-to-surface missiles was granted in 2014, not 2018 as referred to in the Parliamentary question.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what information he holds on the rate of remuneration for cleaners in his Department.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Cleaning services in buildings managed by the Department for International Trade are outsourced under a facilities management contract, and the supplier is responsible for setting rates of pay for its staff. The supplier has confirmed that all cleaning staff in buildings managed by the Department are paid at least the London Living Wage.
Where the Department for International Trade is a tenant in buildings belonging to other government departments, cleaners are employed by the property management company for the main landlord, and therefore, information is not held by the Department for International Trade about the rate of remuneration for cleaners in these buildings.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many hours of overtime have been worked by staff in his Department in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The below table sets out the number of hours of overtime claimed by staff on the Department for International Trade's payroll working in the United Kingdom over the last 12 months.
Hours claimed | |||
Month claimed | Weekend/ Bank Holiday | Ordinary | Grand Total |
Feb-17 | 2 | 595 | 597 |
Mar-17 | 14 | 749 | 763 |
Apr-17 | 2 | 542 | 544 |
May-17 | 4 | 460 | 464 |
Jun-17 | 2 | 472 | 474 |
Jul-17 |
| 688 | 688 |
Aug-17 | 4 | 592 | 596 |
Sep-17 | 6 | 628 | 634 |
Oct-17 | 4 | 885 | 889 |
Nov-17 | 8 | 996 | 1004 |
Dec-17 | 13 | 816 | 829 |
Jan-18 | 15 | 901 | 916 |
Total | 74 | 8324 | 8398 |
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2018 to Question 125302, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that its work with the higher education sector on Trade Missions reflects the diversity of the UK’s university sector.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Higher education opportunities overseas are likely to be relevant to a broad range of UK higher education institutions and we thus seek to ensure that the widest grouping of providers is invited to participate. We promote trade missions via a diverse network of higher education representative groups, as well as to the institutions themselves, in both public and private sectors.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support UK higher education exports.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department for International Trade supports the international aspirations of the Higher Education sector through its Education team in a range of ways, including Government to Government engagement and support to Trade Missions. The team has recently helped, amongst others, the University of Birmingham in its plan to open a campus in Dubai. The UK Higher Education sector will also be a focus in the GREAT Festival of Innovation, to be held in Hong Kong in March.
The recently formed DIT Education Sector Advisory Group brings together relevant sector partners, including Universities UK and Independent Higher Education, to co-ordinate efforts to boost education exports.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate has been made of the number of single use disposable cups that are (a) used each year and (b) sent for recycling by his Department.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
According to information provided by our service suppliers, we estimate that the department’s catering services use around 300,000 single use disposable cups per year: 50,000 coffee cups and 250,000 plastic water cups. The Department for International Trade (DIT) is a new department and detailed sustainability data is therefore not available for 2016/17.
Staff and visitors are encouraged to dispose of waste appropriately and use recycling bins wherever possible. Our service supplier offers a cost incentive for using reusable coffee cups, and we are exploring options to reduce our reliance on plastic water cups.
DIT is committed to ensuring its day-to-day operations are environmentally friendly and, as the department develops, we will ensure this is something embedded into our ways of working.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, who the full members of the Board of Trade are.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The new Board of Trade is led by the President of the Board of Trade. The Secretaries of State for the Territorial Offices and other Department for International Trade Ministers have a standing invitation to attend the meetings. The work of the Board of Trade is supported by a group of Advisers. A full list of the Advisers to the Board of Trade can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/international-trade-secretary-dr-liam-fox-convenes-a-new-board-of-trade-to-ensure-the-benefits-of-free-trade-are-spread-throughout-the-uk
The next meeting of the Board of Trade will take place in the first quarter of 2018.
The purpose of the Board of Trade is to support businesses and spread the benefits of trade and investment to all parts of the United Kingdom by maximising the positive impact of the support that HMG provides to English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when the Board of Trade plans next to meet.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The new Board of Trade is led by the President of the Board of Trade. The Secretaries of State for the Territorial Offices and other Department for International Trade Ministers have a standing invitation to attend the meetings. The work of the Board of Trade is supported by a group of Advisers. A full list of the Advisers to the Board of Trade can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/international-trade-secretary-dr-liam-fox-convenes-a-new-board-of-trade-to-ensure-the-benefits-of-free-trade-are-spread-throughout-the-uk
The next meeting of the Board of Trade will take place in the first quarter of 2018.
The purpose of the Board of Trade is to support businesses and spread the benefits of trade and investment to all parts of the United Kingdom by maximising the positive impact of the support that HMG provides to English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.