Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of number of SMEs that (a) export, and (b) expressed an intention to stop exporting in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

The latest published figures from the ONS Business Survey for the calendar year 2017, estimate the number of SMEs (i.e. businesses with an employment size of less than 250) that exported goods and/or services at 232,300.

We have no evidence to suggest that businesses will stop exporting if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.