Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department plans to have further engagement with the businesses that accompanied the Minister for Trade on his visit to Ukraine in April 2024.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Yes.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on what dates the UK-Ukraine Infrastructure Taskforce has met in 2024.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The UK-Ukraine Infrastructure Taskforce meets to drive forward UK support for Ukraine’s reconstruction priorities. The Taskforce has met once this year, on the 8th April in Kyiv, where Minister Hands co-chaired the Taskforce, alongside Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, with Minister Mak joining virtually following his recent appointment. We plan to hold further Taskforce meetings later in 2024.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions her Department had with the businesses that accompanied the Minister for Trade on his recent visit to Ukraine while preparing that visit.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In preparation for our recent trade mission to Ukraine, the Government engaged in extensive discussions with all participating businesses. Notably, during the mission, BAE Systems successfully negotiated a contract with the UK Ministry of Defence to maintain and repair L119 Light Guns directly in Ukraine. This arrangement not only speeds up the return of these crucial assets to the frontline but also significantly bolsters Ukraine’s defence capabilities. Moreover, the department facilitated numerous discussions to help businesses align the capabilities they offer with the urgent demands of Ukraine's defence efforts, ensuring their contributions are both timely and impactful.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses have attended a UK-Ukraine TechBridge tech-focussed event in each year since its launch.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The UK-Ukraine TechBridge was formally launched in January 2024. We estimate over 200 companies have attended a UK-Ukraine TechBridge event so far this year. DBT plans to hold further TechBridge events later this year, including innovation workshops, online and in-person training and trade webinars. We welcome businesses with expertise in sectors such as agritech, health tech, AI, and demining and others to join these events and deepen their collaboration with Ukrainian counterparts.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what criteria her Department used to select the businesses to accompany the Minister for Trade on his recent visit to Ukraine.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The selection of companies for the recent trade mission to Ukraine was carefully considered based on several key criteria. These included companies with advanced operational capabilities in the field, those with an established business presence in Ukraine or already in contract with the Government of Ukraine, and those specifically matching Ukrainian demand as outlined by the Ukrainian government.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many UK-Ukraine TechBridge tech-focussed events have been held in each year since its launch.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The UK-Ukraine TechBridge initiative was announced by the Prime Minister at the London hosted Ukraine Recovery Conference in 2023 with a Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Ukraine signed in November.
Since its formal launch in January 2024,15 tech-focussed events have been held. Innovation workshops on AI, agritech and healthtech were held at the end of March to assess the most significant barriers to innovation in these sectors in Ukraine. New innovation workshops will commence from May targeting new thematic areas, including cyber security, fintech, and demining.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help increase trade with Ukraine.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In February this year the Government agreed to extend tariff liberalisation with Ukraine for an additional five years on the vast majority of goods; the most generous tariff concessions offered by any country. In March 2023, the Government signed a Digital Trade Agreement to underpin Ukraine's transition to a digitally-led economy, and supported this with the launch in January of the UK-Ukraine TechBridge. The Government's work to remove market access barriers continues in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and public procurement. To support more businesses to engage with Ukraine, particularly on reconstruction, the Government host regular business engagement events, nationally and internationally, and published a Guide to Doing Business with Ukraine.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants are supporting the AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
A variety of officials at varying grades will from time to time be engaged in supporting the AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on the Future Combat Air System programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
When I last provided an update to the House in December 2023, the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) Treaty had been signed in Tokyo with our international partners Japan and Italy. This laid the ground for the legal entity of the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO). The Treaty has since been laid before UK Parliament, as part of its formal ratification process.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many defence firms UK Defence and Security Exports supported to attend Secours Expo from 31 January to 3 February 2024 in France.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
UKDSE did not support any defence companies to attend this event.