Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to determine how many trade negotiators his Department will require in the next six months.

The Department for International Trade already has a strong and capable trade policy team which has more than doubled in size since 23 June. Over the coming months we will be developing that team to build the world class negotiating strengths needed to deliver the best outcomes for the UK. They will have the depth and breadth of expertise to handle the full range of sectoral and cross-cutting issues that arise in trade agreements, supported by analysts and lawyers.