Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, ow many non-disclosure agreements his Department has signed with employees in each year for which figures are available.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade (DIT) was set up in July 2016. There have been no non-disclosure agreements signed with employees working for DIT or UK Export Finance since this date.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with which countries he and his officials have held discussions with about future trading options after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are working with a wide range of countries to explore the best ways to develop our current trade and investment relationships and ensure that Britain becomes a global leader in free trade once we leave the EU. The Government has established working groups and high-level dialogues with a range of key trade partners to explore the mechanisms for liberalising trade. These range from mutual recognition agreements and the sort of outcome-based equivalence approach, recently advanced by the governor of the Bank of England, to being key members of multilateral agreements. We will consider multi-country alliances of the like-minded, right down to bilateral arrangements, using all the advantages available from our diplomatic network, to the system of Prime Ministerial Trade Envoys.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which non-EU countries his Department has identified as best for future trade deals in the automotive sector.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are working with a number of other countries to explore the best ways to develop our current trade and investment relationships and ensure that Britain becomes a global leader in free trade once we leave the EU. Automotive is an important sector for the UK and a trade success story with exports worth £40bn – 13.3% of the UK’s total manufacturing exports. It is crucially important to understand the priorities for the sector, as we develop a future UK trade policy and the Department for International Trade officials maintain a dialogue with the industry, working closely with officials in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Exiting the European Union and other government departments.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to promote UK automotive exports to the international market.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department for International Trade (DIT) is actively engaged in promoting UK automotive exports globally, making full use of our teams in the UK and at posts overseas including in our current priority markets: the USA, China, Germany, Central/Eastern Europe, Mexico and India. We help companies win export business through participation in overseas missions and events, including through the Tradeshow Access Programme. Recent examples include the Prime Minister’s mission to China where we supported a number of UK automotive companies, and a low-carbon vehicle mission to the USA and Mexico. We promote UK automotive industry excellence through the Great international trade campaign. We also provide competitive financial support through UK Export Finance, helping exporters and tier-one suppliers to trade internationally. Global demand for UK automotive products is strong and this Department is helping to ensure our automotive businesses take full advantage.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether it is his policy to include the NHS in his discussions on future trade deals.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to protecting the UK's right to regulate public services, including the NHS. The UK's public services, such as services provided by the NHS, are protected by specific exceptions and reservations in all EU trade agreements. As we leave the EU, the UK will maintain our existing rigorous protections for the NHS.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much his Department has spent on (a) art, (b) wine and (c) hospitality in each financial year since its establishment.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Since the formation of the department in July 2016 there has been no spend on art. Art on display is on loan from the Government Art Collection. It is not possible to separate the cost of wine from other catering and hospitality. As a representative department, small amounts of alcohol may be served where appropriate to the importance of the occasion.Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether electronic communications from hon. Members to Ministers in his Department are passed through any third parties before they reach their recipient.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Electronic communications are passed across the internet via internet service providers and the routing of an email between an Hon Member and a Government department is dependent on which system and service an email is sent.
Ministers’ Private Offices and correspondence teams routinely handle and respond to emails on behalf of their Ministers.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the establishment costs were of Healthcare UK.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The annual budget for Healthcare UK in 2017-18 is £4,521,732. This is jointly funded by the Department for International Trade (DIT), the Department of Health, NHS England, and the Ministry of Defence Gulf Strategy.
Healthcare UK was set up in January 2013 prior to the formation of DIT, which does not hold records on the costs of its establishment.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the annual budget is of Healthcare UK.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The annual budget for Healthcare UK in 2017-18 is £4,521,732. This is jointly funded by the Department for International Trade (DIT), the Department of Health, NHS England, and the Ministry of Defence Gulf Strategy.
Healthcare UK was set up in January 2013 prior to the formation of DIT, which does not hold records on the costs of its establishment.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the revenue accrued to the public purse of UK hospitals operating branches in India for each of the last five years.
Answered by Mark Garnier
No such estimate has been made. While a number of UK hospitals work in partnership with a range of healthcare organisations in India, we are not aware of any UK hospitals operating any branches there in the past five years.