United Kingdom: Exports

Lord Stoneham of Droxford Excerpts

Thursday 8th May 2014 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My focus and the Government’s focus is on promoting the UK. The professional and business services sector is the UK’s largest economic sector, contributing 12% to UK employment and 11% of gross value added. To take up the noble Lord’s point about jobs, the PBS sector employs 3.8 million people, accounting for £147 billion to the UK economy. I do not at this stage want to get into the visa aspect, but I wanted to point out the importance of the sector.

[Lord Stoneham of Droxford (LD)]

My Lords, a recent report by PWC shows a 3% growth each year over the past four years in non-financial services, and the huge potential for greater growth in jobs and exports through greater liberalisation of services trade. Could my noble friend tell us what steps the Government are taking to open up the market for services trade in the EU? Are we using the clout of the EU to open up the USA?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My noble friend makes an important point about the value of the EU. The Government have been at the forefront of championing services liberalisation, both within the EU and internationally, particularly with the US. Negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership —or TTIP, for short—were launched under the UK presidency at the G8 Lough Erne summit in June 2013. The European Union’s negotiating mandate, as endorsed by the UK, includes objectives to liberalise transatlantic financial services. TTIP could be worth up to £10 billion to the UK economy.