Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to establish a scheme to retrain as trade negotiators people with experience of high level intergovernmental and global institutional practice.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has created the Department for International Trade, which is responsible for promoting British trade across the world and ensuring the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. We are building up our trade policy capability. ​The Department has begun a process to recruit and train staff to work on the UK’s trade policy. We will adapt the resource devoted to trade policy in line with future demands.