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 many staff of his Department work on trade negotiation.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade has a strong and capable trade policy team which has grown significantly since June 2016 (from 45 to over 300 today), and is continuing to grow.
We continue to hire the brightest and best talent from within the UK civil service and externally, in order to build a world class trade policy team that can deliver the best outcomes for the UK.
The Department has recently appointed Crawford Falconer to the role of Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser and Head of Trade Profession. Mr Falconer brings a wealth of global trade expertise from over 25 years of working on trade policy in the New Zealand government, the World Trade Organization and academia.
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 recent discussions he has had with representatives of the automotive manufacturing industry.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The Department for International Trade (DIT) is working to deliver the best international trading framework for the UK to maximise global trade opportunities, including for the automotive sector. DIT Ministers and officials have frequent conversations with key stakeholders in the automotive sector, including through the Government’s partnership with the Automotive Council.
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) hotels, (b) hospitality, (c) food and drink and (d) transport in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade will be releasing its first full year travel and subsistence spend in its Annual Reports and Accounts.
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 five most visited websites were by staff of his Department in the last year for which figures are available.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The Department for International Trade’s (DIT) staff use legacy IT systems provided by a range of partners including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as well as IT systems directly procured since the Department’s incorporation in November 2016.
For those systems managed directly by DIT we are investigating how to provide the data requested and will respond to the hon. Member in due course. A copy of my reply will be placed in the libraries of the house.
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 many people undertook an unpaid work placement in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many such placements lasted for longer than one month.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade was created in July 2016 and became a legal employer as of 9 November 2016. We do not hold information on how many people undertook an unpaid work placement in the Department and to generate this information would incur disproportionate cost.
UK Export Finance has had no unpaid work placements in each of the last five years.
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 spent on (a) iPads and tablets and (b) paper in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The Department for International Trade is newly formed and became a legal entity on November 9th 2016. Since this date our Digital and IT teams have not purchased any tablets or iPads for the Department.
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 many staff of his Department are employed in media relations and communications roles; and how much has been spent on the salaries of such staff members.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade became a legal entity in November 2016. The department currently employs 15 civil servants in media relations and communications roles. From November 2016 to February 2017, £253,566 has been spent on their salaries.
UK Export Finance currently employs 6 civil servants in media relations and communications roles. From November 2016 to February 2017, the spend on their salaries was £70,188.