Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff in his Department were posted to each country for the purposes of promoting trade with the UK since his Department was established; and what estimate he has made of the number of staff in his Department that will be posted to each country in each of the next three years.

The number of people working for the Department for International Trade (DIT) overseas and promoting trade with the UK as at 31 March 2018 is shown in the attached table. The table shows each country, grouped by HM Trade Commissioner Region.

HM Trade Commissioners (HMTCs) have recently been appointed to 5 DIT regions, with a further 4 to be announced shortly. Our HMTCs will have the freedom to determine how they wish to shape their Region going forward, including the allocation of staff at each Post.