Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many current contracts his Department has with Serco; and what the (a) value, (b) start date and (c) end date of each of those contracts is.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The Department for International Trade does not have any contracts with Serco.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what meetings have taken place between Ministers or officials of his Department and representatives of the International Fur Traders Association since his Department was established to date.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Details of the meetings held by the Department for International Trade (DIT) Ministers are published on the Gov.UK website and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-international-trade&publication_type=transparency-data
Below ministerial level, officials routinely meet trade representatives from a wide range of sectors with a diverse range of interests as part of general engagement activities of the department.
No DIT Ministers have met directly with the International Fur Traders Association.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, for each trade envoy (a) what contracts they have helped deliver, (b) how many visits they have each made to their respective countries and (c) the number of times they have had meetings in the Department during the period they have been appointed to that role.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Trade Envoy Programme primarily focuses on helping to facilitate bilateral trade and investment through soft power and fostering relationships in markets to which Trade Envoys are assigned.. In 16/17 Trade Envoys contributed towards £15.5bn in export wins.
Annex A provides a breakdown of the number of visits each current Trade Envoy has undertaken since the programme began in 2012.
DIT arranges a number of briefing roundtables throughout the year, to update Trade Envoys on departmental priorities. Trade Envoys are also able to use DIT's meeting rooms when receiving official visitors where appropriate. However DIT does not centrally hold information on the number of times they have had internal meetings and it could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what measures he has put in place to ensure that people acting as trade ambassadors separate that role from any personal commercial activities they have arising from which there might be a conflict of interest.
Answered by Greg Hands
Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys are parliamentarians and as such are duty bound to declare their interests on the parliamentary register.
The Department for International Trade officials provide all PM Trade Envoys with a copy of the terms of reference for the programme, which includes a section on conflicts of interest.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many meetings he or his Department have had with (a) the Legatum Institute and (b) Barnabus Reynolds/Politieia on market liberalisation following the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department for International Trade has met the Legatum Institute on a number of occasions since its formation, at Ministerial and official level, as it does with a number of think tanks. These meetings covered a variety of topics.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with the (a) National Farmers Union and (b) Food and Drink Federation on the potential for a free trade deal for the UK with the US.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department for International Trade (DIT) supports trade and champions the interests of companies in all parts of the UK. DIT has met both the National Farmers Union and the Food and Drink Federation to discuss a number of matters, including UK-US trade.