Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department plans to take to support further growth in the services sector; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that EU regulations do not negatively affect support to businesses in that sector.

The UK is the second largest exporter of services globally, with services exports valued at £193bn in 2012, accounting for 40% of overall UK exports. The Government is taking steps to strengthen exports of the service sector through: trade negotiations; UK Trade and Investment business support for service exporters; and through the current Industrial Strategy, incorporating eleven sector strategies, including for the highly regarded Professional and Business Services sector. The UK Government is a strong supporter of the Trade in Services Agreement negotiation which could be worth £2-3bn to the UK as the EU’s most externally competitive services economy. The UK is also working closely with other EU countries to ensure that the new European Commission prioritises deepening of the single market in services through the removal of remaining barriers to trade. We will also work closely with the new Commission and other institutions to emphasise the priority the UK attaches to the reduction of unnecessary EU burdens on business across a range of sectors, to support growth and job creation.