Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of successful investor state dispute claims against the UK under the terms of the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK has investment agreements with ISDS provisions with over 90 trading partners, including within the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). There has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the UK, nor has the threat of potential claims affected the Government’s legislative programme.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when her Department plans to publish the impact assessment of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Impact Assessment for the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership will be published shortly after signature of the agreement’s Accession Protocol.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much UK diplomatic posts charge businesses for export support.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The majority of DBT support to exporters in the UK and overseas is delivered at no cost to businesses. This support ranges from our innovative Export Academy to the Export Support Service, from our International Markets hubs in nine regions globally through to the in-market expertise of DBT teams in Embassies and Consulates around the world.
We do levy a charge for some additional services, for example the exclusive use of UK Government property for events or the Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) which provides market intelligence and connections at a rate of £55 per hour exclusive of VAT.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information her Department holds on how many external speakers were blocked from speaking at events hosted by (a) her Department and (b) the Department for International Trade after a review of their social media activity.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Please refer to the answer given to Question 187366.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 110733 on Strategic Trade Advisory Group and Trade Advisory Groups, whether it remains her Department's policy to implement wider reforms in relation to the role of Trade Advisory Groups; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Business and Trade is reforming its approach to external engagement to meet the needs of industry and match the priorities of the new Department. A new approach will be set out in due course, but in the meantime the Department continues to engage with a full range of interested parties on key issues.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many meetings her Department had with businesses in the manufacturing sector on the potential impact of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on that sector; and when those meetings took place.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
DBT engaged extensively with a range of stakeholders and experts through technical and strategic discussions to inform our CPTPP negotiations and ensure we were representing the views of sectors across the UK economy. DBT also continually worked with stakeholders to understand concerns and ensure that our negotiations benefited businesses and consumers across the UK. Our post-round reporting ensured stakeholders were kept up to date throughout the process. This included, but was not limited to, one-to-one meetings at a senior level and with officials, roundtables with relevant stakeholders, monthly calls on communications for business organisations, Quarterly Stakeholder Briefings, Advisory Group Up-dates, and sector-specific briefings, including with the manufacturing sector.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will list the date of the most recent meeting for each of the trade advisory groups.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The most recent formal meeting dates of each of the Trade Advisory Groups are listed below:
Agri-Food: 12/05/2022
Automotive, Aerospace & Marine: 27/04/2022
British Manufactured & Consumer Goods: 23/06/2022
Chemicals: 6/03/2023
Creative Industries: 21/09/2022
Financial Services: 20/02/2023
Investment: 19/05/2022
Life Sciences: 10/06/2022
Professional Advisory Services: 18/05/2022
Telecoms & Technology: 05/05/2022
Transport Services: 21/06/2022
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 110733 on Strategic Trade Advisory Group and Trade Advisory Groups, when she plans to publish an updated membership list for the Trade Advisory Groups.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Business and Trade is reforming its approach to external engagement to meet the needs of industry and match the priorities of the new Department. A new approach, including membership, will be set out in due course, but in the meantime the Department continues to engage with a full range of interested parties on key issues.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information her Department holds on how many external speakers were blocked from speaking at events hosted by (a) her Department and (b) the Department for International Trade after a review of their social media activity; and if she will list such speakers blocked in the last three years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2023 to Question 185708 on Manufacturing Industries: Rules of Origin, whether her Department has (a) made an impact assessment and (b) conducted modelling on what proportion of goods manufactured in the UK meet the rules of origin requirements of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A complete Impact Assessment on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will be published prior to scrutiny by parliament.
The UK published its strategic approach to the negotiations in June 2021, which outlined how the agreement could give British exporters further opportunities to qualify for preferential market access. It is not possible to model the full range of real-world potential benefits and impacts as it depends on individual firm’s supply chains and investment decisions. As the CPTPP is implemented, UK business could diversify critical supply chains and further benefit from the Rules of Origin.