Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between James Duddridge and Siobhan Baillie

Wednesday 29th April 2020 Commons Chamber

[Siobhan Baillie (Stroud) (Con)]

What steps her Department is taking to support the global supply chains of UK businesses?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (James Duddridge)]

Keeping supply chains open is essential for British consumers to access what they need. It will also help British business to bounce back quickly. We must protect the lives and livelihoods of people in developing countries who work in those supply chains, so we are working across Government within the G20, the World Trade Organisation and the World Bank on development-focused trade support, including flows of medical supplies. We are also working with British business to support vulnerable communities overseas that provide goods to the UK.

[James Duddridge]

I thank the logistics firms across the country, particularly those in Runnymede and Weybridge, for the work that they do. This ministerial team will continue to work with the Department for International Trade to keep supply chains open so that firms can restart exporting as soon as the operating context allows. We will also work with the Department for Transport and BEIS to understand the impacts on UK logistics firms and the critical role that they play in facilitating trade.

[Siobhan Baillie [V]]

The pandemic is affecting supply chains across the world at the moment, including those that provide vital goods to the UK and businesses in Gloucestershire. What is my hon. Friend doing to make sure that the work in the affected industries in developing countries is supported during the crisis?