Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many third party (a) consultants and (b) consulting companies have been commissioned by his Department since it was established; and what the cost to the public purse of such commissioning has been.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Prime Minister announced the creation of the Department for International Trade (DIT) on the 14th July 2016.
I refer the hon Member for Tottenham to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Hornsey and Wood Green on 17 October, UIN47214, for details of the consulting companies the Department has made use of since it was established.
Since that answer was provided, UK Export Finance (UKEF) has used SFW Ltd for consultancy services for an “Electronic Document Management” review (£15,736k) and ANSEC IA Ltd for an “Information Assurance” review (£22,900). UKEF’s costs are on-going service delivery costs which are not connected with machinery of government changes.
DIT and UK Export Finance will be publishing Workforce Management Information, which details the number and cost of non-payroll staff, those classed as contingent labour consultants and consultancy on:
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many applicants his Department has received for trade negotiator positions; how many such applicants have been invited for interview; to how many such applicants job offers have been made; and how many such applicants have started work in his Department.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department for International Trade already has a strong and capable trade policy team which has more than doubled in size since 23 June. Over the coming months we will be developing that team to build the world class negotiating strengths needed to deliver the best outcomes for the UK. They will have the depth and breadth of expertise to handle the full range of sectoral and cross-cutting issues that arise in trade agreements, supported by analysts and lawyers.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many full-time equivalent trade negotiators his Department has in post (a) in total, (b) with at least a year's experience, (c) with at least five years' experience and (d) with at least 10 years' experience.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department for International Trade has a strong and capable trade policy team with many years of negotiating expertise. We will continue to hire the brightest and best talent from within the UK civil service and from elsewhere in order to build the world class negotiating strengths needed to deliver the best outcomes for the UK.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff in his Department are currently engaged in (a) London and (b) Geneva on World Trade Organisation policy.
Answered by Greg Hands
As the Department for International Trade (DIT) is still to obtain a transfer of functions order to establish the Secretary of State and Department as a separate legal entity, it is not yet recognised as an independent employer. Therefore no independent staff data is available. DIT does not have staff in Geneva but will continue to work closely with the UK Mission to the UN in order to deliver the best possible outcomes for the UK.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what budget his Department has set for paying staff (a) on secondment from external companies and (b) engaged as external contractors or consultants for each year from 2016 to 2020.
Answered by Greg Hands
Following her appointment on 13 July 2016 the Prime Minister established the Department for International Trade (DIT). The DIT aggregates UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), UK Export and Finance (UKEF), Trade Policy Units from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), as well as some new hires.
Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes the Secretary of State as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes.
The use of secondments and contractors to provide commercial and sectorial experience, not readily available in the civil service and to provide additional resource for limited periods is occasionally required. DIT does not set budgets for the use of secondees, external contractors or consultants as each are deployed flexibly in line with business need. As such we cannot provide details of budgets allocated from 2016 to 2020.
For reference, expenditure on secondees currently equates to approximately £14, 299.27 per month. Expenditure on contractors and consultants for 2015/16 was approximately £26.5 million. These costs are subject to fluctuation as the Department responds to changing requirements. Contractor costs reflect the level of senior specialist, technical and commercial knowledge required by the former UKTI department to support British businesses in international markets, and with overseas investors looking to invest in the UK.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many officials of his Department are (a) on secondment from external companies and (b) engaged as external contractors or consultants; and what the cost is of engaging such people.
Answered by Greg Hands
Following her appointment on 13 July 2016 the Prime Minister established the Department for International Trade (DIT). The DIT aggregates UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), UK Export and Finance (UKEF), Trade Policy Units from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), as well as some new hires.
Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes the Secretary of State as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes.
Since the department was formed in July there have been no secondees appointed from the private sector. Secondees previously in post with syndicate organisations have moved across to DIT on legacy terms.
Contractors in post with syndicate organisations have also moved across to DIT on legacy terms. Since the department was formed in July the number of contractors remains 217 with incumbent costs, as tabled below.
| DIT Secondees | Monthly Costs | DIT Contractors | Costs for financial year 2015/16 |
Trade Policy & Ministerial (BEIS) | 1 | £0.00 | 1 | £14,982 |
International Trade & Investment (UKTI) | *12 | £14,299.27 | 196 – as of 01/09/16 | £24 million |
UK Export Finance | 0 | - | 20 – as of 01/09/16 | £2.54 million |
Total | 13 | £14,299.27 | 217 | £26.5 million |
Table Notes:
The majority of secondees are funded by seconding companies. Costs are based on collective monthly salaries of DIT funded secondees.
Actual numbers of contractors fluctuate throughout the year as do costs. Contractor costs reflect the level of senior specialist, technical and commercial knowledge required by the former UKTI department to support British businesses in international markets, and with overseas investors looking to invest in the UK.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many trade negotiators are employed by his Department.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Rt hon Member will be aware that my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has created a new Department for International Trade, which is responsible for promoting British trade across the world and ensuring the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. We are building up our trade policy capability. The new Department has begun a process to recruit and train staff to work on the UK’s trade policy. We will adapt the resource devoted to trade policy in line with future demands.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate his Department has made of how long it will take to negotiate bilateral trade deals with (a) USA, (b) China, (c) Japan, (d) Canada and (e) other large non-EU trading partners once the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands
I refer the Rt hon Member to the answer of 21 July to UIN 42585.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans his Department has to hire third party contractors to support its work on trade negotiations; what the duration of such contracts will be; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of such contractors over the lifetime of those contracts.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Rt hon Member will be aware that my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has created a new Department for International Trade, which is responsible for promoting British trade across the world and ensuring the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. We are building up our trade policy capability. The new Department has begun a process to recruit and train staff to work on the UK’s trade policy. We will adapt the resource devoted to trade policy in line with future demands.