Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, (i) in which countries the former Member for Lagan Valley undertook business, trade promotion, investment, consultancy or related activities on behalf of the Government; (ii) on what dates those visits took place; (iii) what the purpose of each visit was; (iv) which organisations, businesses or other entities were engaged with during each visit; and (v) what costs were met from public funds in relation to each visit.

The former Member for Lagan Valley was a United Kingdom Trade Envoy for Egypt and Cameroon from 2015 under the previous Conservative government until he was removed in 2024. During this time, he undertook multiple visits to both countries in his role to promote the UK governments Trade and Investment agenda.

All Trade Envoy activity was undertaken under the direction of UK Officials in country, and all expenses came from the programme budget, however the specific itemised costs incurred are not centrally held and could only be produced at disproportionate cost.