Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will make representations to the Prime Minister of India on the international arbitration tribunal decision in favour of Cairn Energy plc in its dispute with the Indian Government during their scheduled discussions in April 2021.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
We note the award made by the arbitral tribunal in the case brought by Cairn Energy against the Government of India under the United Kingdom-India Bilateral Investment Treaty.
HM Government is not a party to this dispute, but we hope that the case can be resolved.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the international arbitration tribunal decision in favour of Cairn Energy plc in its dispute with the Indian Government; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
HM Government respects the rights of both parties to pursue the legal options available to them and we note the award made by the arbitral tribunal in the case brought by Cairn Energy under the United Kingdom-India Bilateral Investment Treaty. HM Government is not a party to these legal proceedings, so it would be inappropriate to comment.
The Department for International Trade continues to provide support to any British investor seeking investment opportunities in India.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the level of (a) direct and (b) indirect subsidy provided by the Defence and Security Organisation to the arms industry in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department for International Trade Defence and Security Organisation (DIT DSO) does not subsidise the defence industry.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2018 to Question 189652 on Department for International Trade: Staff, how many of his Department's staff were employed in (a) non-EU countries, (b) EU countries, (c) Greece and (d) Italy in each of the last three years.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The number of employees of the Department for International Trade in each of the last three years is shown in the table below.
| 31 October 2016 | 31 October 2017 | 31 October 2018 |
a) Non-EU Countries | 952 | 1,106 | 1,071 |
b) EU Countries | 1,236 | 1,881 | 2,156 |
c) Greece | 5 | 5 | 4 |
d) Italy | 21 | 25 | 22 |
The table above includes all DIT employees who are paid via DIT payroll, UKEF employees paid via the UKEF payroll and staff who are working overseas and paid via the FCO payroll and then recharged to DIT at each of the reference dates.
The number of employees included in the totals for EU Countries includes those based in the UK, Greece and Italy.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether staff (a) in positions related to his Department in overseas missions have been made redundant and (b) in his Department have been (i) offered, (ii) taken and (iii) refused reduced salaries in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Hollingbery
In the past 12 months the Department for International Trade (DIT) has undertaken restructuring in overseas missions to generate efficiencies, and ensure we have the requisite capacity and capability to deliver our departmental objectives across the global network. This restructuring activity has, in some locations, included redundancies.
There are a range of circumstances where staff in DIT would be offered a reduced salary. A reduction in salary may result when staff members reduce their hours of work, accept a role at a lower grade or move from a role where London pay ranges apply to one where National pay ranges apply.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the budget was for the Government's Trade Commissioners in each of the last two years, what the actual spend was in each of those years; what the budget is for the 2018-19 financial year; and how much has been spent in the 2018-19 financial year to date.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department delegated budgets to Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioners (HMTCs) for the first time in 2018-19. There are 9 HMTCs across 9 overseas regions. The budgets include the costs of locally engaged staff, non-pay related expenditure and devolved marketing expenditure in each of the regions. The total budget delegated at the beginning of the 2018 financial year was £59.2m and spend at the end of October 2018 was £29.8m.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that trade negotiations include low and middle-income countries in Africa when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are considering our future trading relationships with a broad range of partners as we prepare to leave the EU. The UK remains committed to ensuring developing countries can reduce poverty through enhanced trading opportunities. The Government’s priority is to deliver continuity in our trading arrangements, including with developing countries. We will seek to transition existing Economic Partnership Agreements with African, and also Pacific and Caribbean, countries and regions. We will establish a unilateral trade preference scheme which will, as a minimum, provide the same level of access to around 70 developing countries as the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences.