Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to his Department's publication DIT ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings: April to June 2017, published on 13 October 2017, whether (a) representatives or employees of the firm which offered that hospitality and (b) lobbyists or contractors of those firms were present at those events.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
For events organised and held by outside organisations where Ministers are invited to attend, lists of attendees are not held centrally.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which public telephone lines for his Department's services are charged at higher rates; and how much was taken by each such telephone line in the last 12 months.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
None of the Department’s published phone numbers which provide access to the Department’s export and investment support services are charged at higher rates than standard.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of his Department's spend in the last year has been with Government strategic suppliers.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade proportion of spend on strategic suppliers since its creation in July 2016 and March 2017 was approximately 2%.
Please see the following link for a list of Government Strategic Suppliers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of civil service posts in his Department was vacant for a week or longer since his Department was established; and what the turnover rate for civil servants in his Department has been in that period.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade (DIT) headcount has grown to more than 3,590, which includes an international network of more than 1,300 people. DIT headcount has grown by 43% since July 2016 (an increase of 1,087 from 2,504 to 3,591.
The turnover rate for civil servants in DIT for the 12 month period from October 2016 to September 2017 was 11.8%.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department holds a central list of the IT and digital assets of its arm's-length bodies.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for international Trade currently has no arms-length bodies, and therefore keeps no such lists.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2017 to Question 1077450, on International Trade Travel, whether that policy has been followed for all Ministerial travel; and if he will publish the journeys which took more than five hours.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All Ministerial journeys have adhered to Cabinet Office rules on international travel.
Those journeys, published in the Department for International Trade transparency returns on 13 October 2017, that took more than 5 hours were those taken to: India; the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia; Oman; Japan; and the United States.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to DIT Ministerial Quarterly Transparency Returns, published on 13 October 2017, on which international journeys undertaken by (a) him, (b) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Investment, (c) the Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion and (d) the Minister of State for Trade Policy were (i) economy, (ii) business, (iii) first and (iv) any other class were used.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers in the Department for International Trade abide by Cabinet Office rules on international travel. These state that any journey over 5 hours in duration can be made in Business Class, while others should be made in Economy Class.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2017 to Question 8761, on Department for International Trade: procurement, which two contracts took over three months to procure; which contract took over six months to procure; and which contract took over one year to procure.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The two contracts that took longer than three months to procure are:
‘Astana Expo 2017 Concept & Developed Design’, which focused on delivering comprehensive design services for the UK Pavilion, at the Astana EXPO 2017 in Kazakhstan.
‘The Provision of Generalist and Specialist Interim Services’, which supports the Department for International Trade’s operations in the UK and globally, by fulfilling interim roles and transitioning contractors from multiple legacy agreements to the new agreement.
The contract that took over six months to procure is ‘Astana Expo 2017 Design & Build’, which was to provide the technical design, fabrication, construction and installation and provide a single point of contract for the design and build of the UK Pavilion at the Astana EXPO 2017 in Kazakhstan.
The contract that took over twelve months to procure is ‘Event Management Services’, which is for the design and delivery of innovative and market-leading events.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2017 to Question 10040, how much of the amount paid in exit schemes in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17 was paid to (i) men and (ii) women.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade (DIT) came to existence in July 2016.
DIT’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) details the total paid in exit packages in 2016-17 and those paid under UK Trade and Investment (one of DIT’s predecessor organisations) in 2015-16.
Further information can also be found in the ARA on page 48 and 49:
Of the total exit packages paid in the ARA, covering 2015/16 and 2016/17, 49% was paid to men and 51% to women.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many (a) men and (b) women have left his Department under exit schemes since its creation.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the hon Member for Hemsworth to the answer I gave on 12 September, UIN: 10040.