EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Lord Mountevans Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mountevans (CB) [V]]

My Lords, of course, I too am relieved that we have a deal, but, building on points raised by other noble Lords, including the noble Lord, Lord King, and the noble Baroness, Lady Bottomley, I believe that it behoves us now to move the focus to what must be done by government, business and society to secure a successful future following this agreement. It is just us now. We have to address the opportunities and challenges with energy and urgency if we are to succeed. We have to and we will.

First, I have great faith in the City of London’s ability to invent and innovate, but any damage to the financial services sector is damaging indeed, so I want to add my support to the stress being laid on the importance of reaching an agreement with the EU on equivalence and on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

Secondly, SMEs are the lifeblood of the economy and where we look for growth. Germany pays 50% of international trade show expenses for its SMEs. Singapore also has a scheme. A similar arrangement here would have a profound effect on encouraging small and medium-sized businesses to export and on getting them launched internationally.

Thirdly, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that the UK remains a great place to do business, and, in parallel, we need to hone the promotion of our offer internationally. We have some excellent products and services, but we urgently need to sharpen our sales and marketing skills now.

Related to this, and it is frequently heard in this House, there is an urgent need to upgrade and increase the teaching of foreign languages in our schools and universities. I invite the Minister to consider these points.