Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding available for smaller companies to exhibit their trade overseas; and whether she has made an assessment of how that support compares to that offered by other countries in the World Trade Organisation.

Since launching on 30 November 2021, the UK Tradeshow Programme has had 419 applications seeking support to exhibit at (258), or attend (161*), trade shows overseas.

The programme is currently running as a 16-month feasibility study, ending on 31 March 2023, and research to evaluate the programme is ongoing.

As outlined in our 2021 Export Strategy “Made in the UK, sold to the World”, the Department is committed to improving exporting opportunities for businesses and monitoring our performance in this area to ensure continuous improvement.

*Pursuant to my replies to the hon. Member for Torfaen on 9 February 2023, UIN 126730 and 126731, which stated 164 attendee applications had been received, three applications have since been resolved as incomplete.