Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her department is taking to increase the transparency of export costs.

We recognise the barriers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face to exporting: our most recent National Survey of Registered Businesses (NSRB) highlights that companies’ lack of knowledge, capacity and awareness of opportunities represent real market failures which prevent SMEs from exporting. The Department for International Trade does not ask businesses to respond to the survey to assess and report the actual costs involved.

The 12-point plan for exports aims to address these barriers and is centred around the Export Support Service (ESS) which provides a single point of entry for businesses who export or wish to do so.