Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the impact of increased homeworking during the covid-19 outbreak on her Department’s carbon footprint.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Department monitors and reports on its greenhouse gas emissions - information on this is published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report. More information is available here - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/greening-government-commitments
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has published a plan setting out the steps it plans to take to transition to net zero emissions.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Department is committed to reducing emissions and energy consumption wherever possible, as part of the UK’s transition to net zero. The Department’s current targets to make progress on reducing emissions have been published, as part of the Greening Government Commitments - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/greening-government-commitments#annual-reports
The Government published the Net Zero Strategy in October 2021, which sets out policies and proposals for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy to meet our net zero target by 2050 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/net-zero-strategy
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/greening-government-commitments#annual-reports
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has implemented a training programme to provide civil servants with skills to support its transition to net zero.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The new Government Curriculum will include modules on Net Zero, climate change and wider environmental issues for government. The Government Skills & Curriculum Unit is working with other Departments (including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) to create training resource for all civil servants. This will be piloted from April 2022.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether a senior manager in her Department has been given the portfolio for leading on departmental sustainability.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government is committed to making its estate and operations more sustainable and resilient, through the Greening Government Commitments.
The Department for International Trade reports on these commitments every quarter to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and publish a report in the sustainability section of the Department’s Annual Reports and Accounts (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-international-trade-annual-report-and-accounts). The Government Property Agency are responsible for managing and maintaining the department’s estate. Senior officials with relevant functional responsibility lead this work on behalf of the department.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the total floor area of her departmental estate was in each year from 2010-11 to 2020-21.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Department for International Trade was established in July 2016. The total floor area for the Department’s estate since inception was as follows:
Year | Total Floor Space (M2, Net Internal Area) |
2016/17 | 0 |
2017/18 | 898 |
2018/19 | 13993 |
2019/20 | 0 |
2020/21 | 0 |
During the first two financial years, our estate was partially owned by another Department while transfers where formalised.
The Department subsequently transferred ownership of its property assets to the Government Property Agency (GPA) from September 2019. The GPA will report the space separately for 2019/20 onwards in the Cabinet Office response.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
What recent discussions she has had with the UK's trade partners on protecting International Labour Organisation standards in future trade agreements.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
While the details?of?free trade agreements?are?reserved?for formal negotiations,?HM Government has been clear that?increased trade does not have to come at the expense of?our high?labour standards.?The United Kingdom?is an active member of the International Labour Organisation and we?will?continue to uphold our world-leading standards and?international?commitments.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May to Question 43779, in how many multi-hub locations employees of her Department are working together with employees of another department or agency in London managed by the Government Property Agency; what those other departments or agencies are; and in which locations that work is taking place.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 54314 on 12th June 2020.