UK Trade and Investment

Nick de Bois Excerpts

Thursday 15th March 2012 Westminster Hall

[Barry Gardiner]

I could, but I would rather refer the hon. Gentleman to the pamphlet that I wrote on the matter following the general election. I fear that if I were to begin on the point now, it might take up more time than we have available.

If the UK is to emerge from its current economic stagnation, it must do so by trade. The opportunities from trade and investment lie not only in our own abilities but in the accurate assessment of the economic opportunities in, and performance of, other countries. We have seen a definite shift in economic power. With the rise of India, China and Brazil, there is a new global dynamic, so there are now new global opportunities. We have seen the eurozone’s problems, as it struggles to pull itself out of recession. In the past 15 years, the United States has adjusted to refocusing its attention more towards the Pacific than the Atlantic. In those circumstances, we have seen the benefits of Indian companies, such as Tata Global, investing in British companies such as Tetley. We have seen the benefits of British companies, such as BAE, expanding overseas and, in doing so, boosting our economy.

It is imperative that we have the skills and institutions that can facilitate such investments. We need an organisation that can identify opportunity overseas and channel UK companies in a co-ordinated supply chain to meet it; one that can source overseas investors and persuade them that UK companies are the perfect fit for their investment to yield above-sector returns for them and for new jobs and growth in the UK. That organisation should be UKTI. The redoubtable hon. Member for South Thanet has illustrated that UKTI is, in its current state, not yet that organisation. It lags behind other countries’ organisations in promoting investment abroad and at home.

[Nick de Bois (Enfield North) (Con)]

Before the hon. Gentleman advances his idea of what UKTI can do—I agree with everything that he has said so far—should a critical part be not just about where the opportunities are now and in the short-term future? The UKTI must be able to play a strategic role, with the Government, for the so-called N11 countries. We must seize the opportunity to be the first to the field with infrastructure, airline routes and so on.

[Barry Gardiner]

The hon. Gentleman makes an absolutely perfect point. I am very happy to acknowledge it and support exactly what he says. UKTI should not simply be looking at the present, and it should not simply be looking at the short to medium term. It should have a strategic overview of where the UK’s trade and investment interests lie into the foreseeable future—that is absolutely right.

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[Barry Gardiner]

I am delighted that I was able to provoke the Minister’s intervention, because that is exactly the fighting talk that I wanted to hear. The hon. Member for South Thanet started by talking about your both being on the beaches, Mr Amess, and clearly the Minister is still fighting on them, so that is good.

This is a time when the UK should be taking every advantage afforded it to it. The difficulties created by recession and the crisis in the eurozone are considerable. That is why we need to expand our horizons, seeking new and innovative ways to attract investment and finding opportunities abroad. UKTI and British industry, generally, possess some remarkable advantages, many of which have been mentioned by the hon. Lady in her opening remarks. We enjoy significant cultural, historic and economic ties with many countries currently experiencing economic growth. London is the world’s financial capital, and we have a long and proud history of manufacturing.

With the right attitude, focus and know-how, UKTI can provide a firm footing for Britain to re-establish economic growth. As it stands, however, it is failing. The UK has lost market share in trade and investment. According to the Office for National Statistics, foreign companies invested £32 billion in the UK in 2010—a decrease of £16 billion from 2009. More significantly, because some people may challenge that on the basis of the recession, that was the lowest value since 2004. In 2010, outward foreign direct investment by UK companies decreased to £23 billion—the lowest FDI outflow in 16 years.

One might claim that recent events in the eurozone and the United States have impacted on such figures, but the statistics for the so-called BRICs are just as unimpressive. The United States remains the biggest recipient of outward UK investment. India, whose economic growth has topped 7% almost annually for the past 10 years, is down in 18th place, while China, the world’s largest economy, is 24th. Between now and 2030, GDP in the BRIC countries as a proportion of world GDP will increase by 40%, yet more than 65% of UK trade is done in north America and Europe. Indeed, British involvement with emerging economies has been waning. The UK dropped from seventh to fourth in the list of India’s largest export markets, but went down to 22nd place for imports from number three and now accounts for just 1% of all imports into India. We are the sixth largest manufacturing economy in the world, yet we represent just 1% of India’s imports. If that is not cause for shame and alarm, it should be.

[Nick de Bois]

There is a lesson in this and a stark warning. As with many other countries, there is a large diaspora from India in this country. We have a history unique to that part of the world and we share many common languages and traditions, yet we seem—perhaps there is a role for parliamentarians from all parties, as well as Ministers—to be failing to build long-term relationships. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, in that way, we may be able to play a small part?

[Barry Gardiner]

The hon. Gentleman is right. Indeed, for precisely those reasons, I set up the all-party parliamentary group on UK-India trade and investment a number of years ago, to take advantage of the constituency links that he and the hon. Member for South Thanet have mentioned. We must capitalise on these things. They are the stuff of which business is made. Business is made not simply by good products and good marketing, but by people and contacts and by people who are able to go out and get business and do the deal. Someone might have the best product in the world, but if they do not have such a relationship, things will not happen. That is the hallmark of successful business.

In my constituency, more than 130 languages are spoken in our schools, and in one school, in a class of 29 children, 21 different first languages are spoken. Coming from such a constituency, I echo the sentiments expressed by the hon. Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois). It is upon the experience, contacts and family connections of my constituents and, I presume, his that we must build a much stronger trade relationship.

This question must be asked of UKTI: why are emerging markets not at the forefront of British investment now? It should be UKTI’s role to facilitate investment abroad. The statistics reflect UK companies investing where it is easy, not where they can maximise return and not with an eye to future market share. That has a knock-on impact for British trade generally. The UK’s share of global exports has fallen from 5.3% in 2000 to 4.1% in 2010—a long-term trend of decline, I agree, since the 1950s. In the same decade, however, German exports grew from 8.9% to 9.3%. Meanwhile, our goods exports have grown by only 1% per annum, compared with 3% in the US and 5% in Germany.

A report conducted by Ernst and Young for the CBI noted:

“UK outflows are concentrated on the EU and the US, with negligible investment going to high-growth economies.”

The failure properly to engage with emerging markets is, however, not limited to the BRICs. There are no stated bilateral trade targets for Egypt or South Korea, despite both countries being designated as high-growth markets in UKTI’s current five-year strategy. There are also no stated bilateral trade targets for Bangladesh, Indonesia or the Philippines.

Although it is, of course, unfair to blame all those things on UKTI, they serve to underline the organisation’s inefficiencies. UKTI has masked its weaknesses through a lack of accountability. The figures provided in its own reports show little consistency, and there is a great deal of obfuscation regarding the allocation of resources and staff. There is also little or no clear delineation of duties or responsibilities between UKTI, the Foreign Office, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Treasury. The result is an overlap in what the various Departments do and, I assume, a duplication of effort. That lack of organisational clarity gives way to inefficiencies and a failure properly to undertake functions.

The evidence from business—I stress that it comes from business—is that UKTI is not an unuseful organisation, but it could do much more. In a survey conducted by the National Audit Office, 30% of respondents mentioned receiving some benefit from UKTI, but 40% indicated they had received no benefit at all. In a survey of exporters conducted by the CBI, only 12.8% of respondents described UKTI as excellent, while the verdict of 15.4% of respondents was that it was unsuitable or poor, and many organisations, of course, did not respond at all.

UKTI claims that for every pound invested in it, £22 is returned to the British economy—I am not indulging in flights of fantasy—but in UKTI’s own survey of British exporters working through UKTI, 46% of respondents indicated they would have achieved the same outcome without using UKTI. Let us not come out with silly statistics showing that for every pound that goes into UKTI, £22 comes back to the British economy, when UKTI’s own survey tells us that most people think they would have achieved exactly the same result without using UKTI. We have to be honest with ourselves if we are to make a proper analysis of the organisation and put those defects rights.

There is a dearth of credible financial and structural information available on UKTI. The National Audit Office stated that UKTI cannot measure its effectiveness or account for its expenditures because of a lack of accurate information. Our own National Audit office is saying that. The Government allocated an additional £45 million to UKTI in 2011, and it is most concerning that we are pouring money into a body that, according to the National Audit Office, has no oversight or accountability.

Evidence from within British industries has highlighted the failure of UKTI’s approach. Eight of UKTI’s 10 board members have no background in business, thus undermining the organisation’s ability effectively to identify investment opportunities and support inward and outward investors. Again, I refer to Ernst and Young’s CBI report, which states:

“more could be done to link UKTI and embassy staff to the plethora of trade associations operating in local markets.”

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[Laura Sandys]

rose—

[Nick de Bois]

rose—

[Geoffrey Clifton-Brown]

I am spoilt for riches—I give way first to the proposer of the debate.

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[Mr David Amess (in the Chair)]

Sir Nick de Bois.

[Nick de Bois]

I feel elevated, Mr Amess.

[Mr David Amess (in the Chair)]

Mr Nick de Bois.

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[Nick de Bois]

I want a copy of Hansard now.

My hon. Friend is right to talk about the need for UKTI to network, but may I be cruder and suggest that we do what the French and Germans do? UKTI should bring contacts from within the countries, put them in front of visiting delegations and make them mix. We need such contacts to sell and they can open doors to help people to sell.

[Geoffrey Clifton-Brown]

I was coming to that, so I shall do so now. We need to encourage everyone from the top downwards, from the royal family, the Prime Minister or my noble Friend Lord Green, to take trade delegations out to such countries; we have been good at that in the first two years of the Government, but we have not been so good at following it up. The noble Lord Prescott, for all his faults, and he had many, was liked by the Chinese, because he kept going to China—he went three or four times a year. Such hierarchical communities respect people, and friendships must be made in depth. Our business people need to know that as well, because even big business and the FTSE company chairmen make that mistake—they think that they can fly into Beijing or Shanghai, do the deal and get out. What they should do is be in there long before they make the deal, do the deal and then revisit their contacts. The other thing on big companies is that we should use them as ambassadors for smaller companies. The FTSE chairmen that I have talked to about that idea are keen to help, and UKTI should have a role.

I have nearly taken up my allotted time, Mr Amess, so you might call me to order, but I have one or two other bees in my bonnet and then I shall conclude, please.

We must do much more to encourage all Departments to export—every single Department should have a designated Minister not only for procurement but as a trade Minister. With the possible exception of social security, there is no portfolio in the Government that could not have a role in trade. In fact, anyone at any time who goes abroad at the taxpayers’ expense, whether a civil servant, a Member of Parliament or a Minister, should be an ambassador for trade—such people should have an eye out for trade opportunities and, when they return to this country, they should write a note. What did I do? The first thing that I did on my return from Morocco was to write a note to my noble Friend Lord Marland on the opportunities for trade in Morocco. I also had a visiting delegation of parliamentarians from South Korea in my office the other day; I discovered a sniff of a highly important lead on an inward investment in South Korea and I sent an e-mail straight away, that day, to the noble Lord Green, alerting him to such a significant opportunity. That is what we should be doing more.

My hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet is right that every single Member of Parliament should become a trade ambassador, on two counts. First, we visit a lot of companies in our constituencies, and we know what they do as businesses, and their export potential. Secondly, we also know our own constituency, even if it has not got an enterprise zone—which I do not, although I wish I did, as my hon. Friend does. I still know, however, what the opportunities are in my patch, as does my neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Neil Carmichael), and we link a lot of businesses together. We should all become trade ambassadors.

The Prime Minister was right to veto the European fiscal compact or tax agreement, because we now see Prudential, with a market value of £18.4 billion, considering whether—perhaps threatening, I do not know—to go to Hong Kong or wherever. If that business goes, a significant number of jobs will be lost in the City of London. If we over-regulate the City or business as a whole, we will simply drive that trade elsewhere in the world. We need to say to our European partners—as I said to the German Finance Minister, and got absolutely nowhere—that if we over-regulate in Europe not only will we lose financial services jobs in this country but the whole of Europe will become uncompetitive against faster growing economies in the world. We need to be really careful about that, so the Prime Minister was absolutely right, and the demands to protect the City of London were reasonable. There are three important financial centres in the world, the USA, London and Hong Kong—with Hong Kong very deregulatory and aware of the need to reduce taxes—and, if we are not careful, Hong Kong will overtake London in time to come. That is a real danger.

I return to the point that I made to the hon. Member for Brent North. Everyone has been critical of UKTI today, and it is easy to be so, but it has a difficult job to do and I think that it does a good job—on the whole and in spite of all the criticisms that I have made. That said, it could do the job a lot better. UKTI needs to benchmark itself against the very best globally, to learn lessons from our rivals in Hong Kong, Singapore, India and all around the world. We in the coalition have been slow to insist that UKTI does that, and I suggest to the hon. Member for West Bromwich West (Mr Bailey), the Chairman of the Select Committee on Business, Innovation and Skills, that if UKTI does not do that itself, perhaps the National Audit Office should do a proper value-for-money report. That is not necessarily a criticism—none of us has 100% wisdom, and every single one of us could improve performance. There is some distance to go with UKTI, because the only way we will grow the economy and create jobs is to export more and to encourage more inward investment. After all, we were the leading country in the industrial revolution, and that is what made this country great—the “great” in Great Britain—so for goodness’ sake let us strive to get back there again.

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[Nick de Bois (Enfield North) (Con)]

It is a delight to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Amess. Although I had not planned to speak, I have been inspired to make a few comments on a subject that is dear to me. I first came into contact with UKTI, or whatever it was called then, in my first six months of starting a business in 1988 or 1989—it was so long ago, I can barely remember. I approached it with some enthusiasm because I wanted to export and I did not know where to go. I am afraid that UKTI is in part responsible for me ending up in politics. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr Wright) is allowed to groan, but they should not be doing it on the Government Benches.

It was with immense frustration that I realised that what was on offer was inadequate and ill-informed. Despite the attractive rhetoric at the time, the Government—I fully confess it was a Conservative Government—did not have much of a handle on how to help businesses grow and export. I resolved that one day I would be in a position to do something about that. Although I am not in that position, I hope that I can influence thinking.

I am not here to join the list of people who are criticising UKTI; actually the concept of it is sound but the implementation could be better. The CBI report in 2011, which looked back over the previous decade—I will try to resist making any political points—rightly acknowledged that the UKTI had what can only be called the Marmite effect on many businesses. It was a love or hate situation. Some experiences were absolutely marvellous and terrific and others were not. I am sure that organisation and administration had something to do with it, but in the end, as everyone says, it comes down to people and how motivated and how good they are at their jobs.

There are two issues: the short term and the strategic. In a couple of interventions, I touched on the strategic. I am afraid that we have missed the boat on the BRIC nations. Yes, there are short-term opportunities, but we should have been building relationships a long time ago. We could have done that at Government and at business level. I am not sure whether Members are aware that we still do not have a direct route from London to Brasilia. That is not how we should behave if we want to establish ourselves with future growing economies. I hope that a strategy in that area will evolve and that UKTI, along with the Government, will play a leading role in helping us to engage with the N11 countries.

The report “Britain open for business”, which I commend to Members, talks about some of the future target countries. It lists only six of the N11 countries. I am a little bemused by that. There may be good reasons, but why did it pick only those six as future target countries?

For the next 10 years, average growth in the eurozone will be pretty awful. The average growth for Germany is forecast at 1.4%, which does not make it a good place to invest money or to solicit sales. It is natural and right to look elsewhere. We have touched on many of the relationships that we have through diaspora or for historical and strategic reasons. I will be blunt; they love us in Kuwait. We came to its aid 20 years ago when we helped to liberate it from Iraq.

There are reasons why countries have an affection for us and wish to work with us, and they go right back to before the Commonwealth. However, it is not just a question of saying, “Oh, let’s go and work with those countries.” We must look for where the growth is. We have already heard about India’s phenomenal growth and the shocking fact that we have such a small slice of it. Closer to home, we are one of the few countries that is supporting Turkey’s membership of the EU. Turkey’s growth currently stands at 8.9%. The UK is behind Italy and France. As Members will understand, with my name, I am utterly qualified to comment on the French without any fear of kickback. France’s growth stands at 1.6%, Spain’s at 1.9% and Britain’s at 1.2%. It is a ludicrous situation. Government cannot do everything, but they can act as a facilitator.

If we look at areas outside the eurozone, and match them with our historical links, the links that I have raised and where there is growth, we start to see the basis of a strategy through which we could reach out and seek future growth. Indeed, many of the countries that I am talking about are in the Commonwealth. I am not ashamed to admit that. In fact, I can think of no greater legacy in this diamond jubilee year than for the Prime Minister to make a formal, public, demonstrable commitment to boosting trade with the Commonwealth. What greater legacy could Her Majesty the Queen ask for? Let me remind hon. Members that we are talking about a common wealth, which was the foundation of the Commonwealth. There is no reason why we should overlook it now. Forgive me, if that sounds a little traditionalist, but it is probably also practical and something that we should seriously consider as an acknowledged strategy.

Looking well outside the Commonwealth, UKTI could quite reasonably look at the Gulf countries, for example. There was a time, when “Cool Britannia” was all the rage, that we overlooked many of the former colonies, for fear of not being very “Cool Britannia”, but I regret that decision. I was on a trade delegation to Kuwait and Members will be surprised—I do not know for certain, but perhaps Opposition Members will be quite delighted—that 90% of Kuwait’s economy is in state ownership. That is an unsustainable position for Kuwait. There is growth in Kuwait, mainly because of the very high price of oil at the moment, but Kuwaitis know that a programme of privatisation is absolutely essential to their future. Who better than this country, which led the way in turning the heavy hand of state corporations into successful and profitable private organisations, to help Kuwait with that programme? We now have to work hard to rebuild that relationship and position ourselves to be ready to do business with Kuwait, which will help our exports.

Once it has evolved its strategy, UKTI can play a significant role in that process. Let me try to explain why from the point of view of a potential exporter; I was a potential exporter and I am sure that many others in the House were too. Exporting is a journey fraught with difficulties. It makes the Cheltenham Gold Cup hurdle look remarkably easy—if horses go over hurdles at Cheltenham. I am not a horse racer, so I do not know, but it seems a reasonably good analogy. Measuring risk against return in exporting, there is high risk for potentially satisfactory or good return. Patience is a prerequisite, but there are so many hurdles to exporting that many people who start with the right intentions find it all too easy to pull out or fail before they have made any substantive progress. UKTI’s work could be a very effective way of holding the hand of some of those early exporters as they go through the trials and tribulations of exporting. I know, because I failed at exporting. I have no problem admitting it, because that failure eventually led me to learn from those lessons and to succeed, both in north American markets and in some of the markets that we have discussed today; but it was a very difficult journey.

Where UKTI could help to fill the gap is both on a practical level and an advice level, but we need to do more. We have already acknowledged the need to build—on a regular basis—our relationships with Governments, agencies, finance houses and companies themselves. UKTI can help to do that, but it needs to do it with a little more power and oomph to its elbow, taking the companies with it. There is a role for UKTI in that process.

My next point is that we need to ensure that we can work with trade bodies here in the UK, by proactively going to them rather than waiting for them to come to us. First, we must have matched British industries with markets in the growth countries and then put the case to them why they should export to those countries. There is practical help that we can offer British companies via UKTI, and we must persuade them about—indeed, sell them on—the merits of exports.

We must also offer companies practical ways to break down the barriers to exports. Many of those barriers are financial. For example, how does a company even open a bank account in some countries? We can help with that and other things, through to delivering companies the contacts in the first place that will allow them to go on and build a sustainable relationship. The job is as much about selling in Britain as it is about opening doors overseas. It is not rocket science to say that that is what we need to do.

I echo the call of my hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel): parliamentarians—I choose that word carefully—can play an active role in that process. Parliamentarians from both Houses can do that; there are skill sets everywhere. Let me for a moment shower praise on Baroness Morris of Bolton, who I joined on a trip to Kuwait. In that part of the Gulf region, a baroness or a baronet—I am afraid that I do not know all the proper titles—is one of the most respected positions. I was walking behind Baroness Morris, having got out of the second car that had picked us up from the airport; the hotel manager and the director met us at the hotel door and I followed them in. I hasten to add at this point that I was carrying my own bags. When I got to the lifts, I was promptly shown into a different lift from the one that Baroness Morris was being escorted into. I had no problem with that, but it taught me a lesson. In different parts of the world, our parliamentarians are respected and valued; sad to say, they may be more respected and valued than they are in parts of this country. We should use their talents, whereby they are consistently able to build relationships, and consistently use—frankly, let us say what it is—the power of office and patronage to help practically in opening the doors and driving our business.Above all else, if we match not only the titles but the talent, skill and expertise of our parliamentarians with the abilities of UKTI, we can make a practical demonstration of effective support from Government to meet the real needs of business.

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[Mr Wright]

The Chair of the Select Committee is right.

UKTI is suggesting new products: the “passport to export” for new-to-export companies, and the “gateway to global growth”, aimed at helping established exporters tap into new markets. This seems to be a good approach that has the support of the wider business community, but I want to press the Minister on the benchmarks for success. What are they? What progress has been made and how many companies have benefited from those two new products?

That leads me to the strategic document that UKTI published a year or so ago, “Britain Open for Business”. The strategic approach that it suggests—expanding exports by securing new businesses overseas, especially through increasing exports to high growth and emerging markets—seems appropriate, given what hon. Members have said today. We also welcome the sectors that the strategy identifies in which Britain has a competitive advantage and from which we could derive greater growth in exports in the next few years.

There can be a greater link-up between industrial and trade strategy. “Britain Open for Business” hints tantalisingly at that, but more can be done. The document is light on detail, which in many respects is understandable, given that it is a high-level strategic document. However, it does not set out very clearly what actions UKTI will take and how success based upon outcomes will be measured.

On that basis, may I ask the Minister a few questions about some of the tasks and actions that “Britain Open for Business” pledges? UKTI states that it will bring more private sector expertise into the strategic relationship management of major exporters and inward investors. That important point has been mentioned a number of times by hon. Members. Will the Minister update hon. Members on how that is progressing? Will he specifically outline how private sector expertise with that commercial know-how is being brought into the business?

Similarly, UKTI strategy has stated that a new private sector delivery partner operating in England outside London will be tasked with bringing in high-quality inward investment projects. Will the Minister say what the latest is on that and what progress has been made? UKTI has also pledged to develop new partnerships with key businesses that support SMEs, trying to tap into their networks to raise awareness of the benefits of exports. Time and again today we have heard about the huge importance of the chambers of commerce and about the excellence that sector-led trade associations can provide in batting for British companies outside the UK. What is being done to exploit that great expertise more? How will that be evaluated, and what progress is being made?

UKTI has pledged to create a new online self-help community for UK SME exporters to provide business-to-business support, advice and mentoring. Again, will the Minister update hon. Members on that? With regards to the document, will the Minister tell us about the high value opportunities programme? How successful has that been and can he identify specific export opportunities that have been realised as a direct result of that initiative?

Let me turn to the cuts, which have been mentioned a number of times, not least by the Chair of the Select Committee. UKTI faces a cut of around 17% over the next few years. In contrast, its French equivalent has had an increase in its budget of 14.2% in 2011 to €105 million. Germany Trade and Invest had a budget increase of 10%.

[Nick de Bois]

I suppose it is inevitable that we must go down that route a bit, but does the hon. Gentleman agree that, considering the funding that was in place before the previous election and the rather dismal figures we have been reviewing during the debate, money is not the answer to everything? It is how that money is used and how effectively one works with other businesses that is important.

[Mr Wright]

Effectiveness is at the heart of the debate. I made that point in response to the hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith). I want to see as big a bang for the UK taxpayers’ buck as possible. How we go about doing that is important.

I was coming on to the figures regarding what rate of return we get for taxpayers’ investment. I think that my hon. Friend the Member for Brent North disputes these figures, but they are a good starting point. For every pound that UKTI spends on export promotion, the British economy and firms generate an additional £22 profit. That is an astonishing figure and a huge ratio. It is difficult to think of a comparable direct example in which Government investment and active involvement could produce such a return. When we factor in the law of diminishing returns and state that—plucking something from the air—every pound that UKTI spends will provide half that current return, on my rough calculation and even according to a conservative estimate, based on the UKTI’s current £333 million budget, this country’s businesses stand to lose well over half a billion pounds in additional profit. With the economy flatlining and unemployment rising, is that appropriate? Should we not be trying to invest more in UKTI?

As I tried to say in response to the hon. Member for Enfield North, every pound spent needs to be focused diligently on proactively seeking out firms with great potential for export capability in high-growth areas. As many hon. Members have said, that means being proactive and having a UKTI presence alongside Foreign Office staff in those emerging markets to advise companies of the ways in which to do business in that particular nation.

That does not necessarily solely mean advertising that the UKTI posts on Twitter and Facebook, and that companies have access to online materials. Certainly, the use of online materials—the internet and social media—is important. However, to use them at the expense of the face-to-face establishment of relationships, will not be an effective use of public money. To some extent, I saw that when I was a shadow Education Minister and the Government ended face-to-face careers guidance for young people. Web-based initiatives—the notion that someone says, “There’s a computer there with the internet on it. Just have a look and see what jobs you might be interested in”—are not an effective use of public money. Web-based media may be part of a complementary blend of materials, but they cannot be the full answer. I worry that, in tightening financial circumstances, people will rely on Twitter and Facebook too much.

People have mentioned the scrapping of the RDAs. That abolition of regional government architecture has not helped matters. LEPs are still in their infancy. We hope that they are a success, but we are missing valuable time. The world is moving on and it will not wait for us. We need to ensure that we are at the vanguard of this competitive environment. If structures are altered domestically, we will be penalised internationally.

I want to finish by making a number of points, one of which is about access to finance. Will the Minister update hon. Members on the progress made with the actions outlined in “The Plan for Growth” published almost a year ago? I put that question to the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), in the debate on British exports and trade a week or so ago, but he did not have time to answer it. How many SMEs have been helped as part of UKTI’s passport to export initiative? In “The Plan for Growth” the Government launched the export enterprise finance guarantee, which provides guarantees for lenders to facilitate the provision of short-term finance lines for export. How many firms have taken advantage of that?

The plan produced three new products designed to mitigate the risks for exporters and potential exporters. I understand that the bond support product was operational from April, so we have had almost a year of it. Will the Minister state how successful he thinks that has been in freeing up exporters’ working capital and how many firms have taken advantage of it?

I want to finish on the point about us having a sustained approach to trade investment and political lobbying. “Britain Open for Business” states:

“Government Ministers will also systematically lobby for UK commercial interests on all overseas visits and in meetings with their counterparts in other governments.”

That is welcome, but the point has been made time and again that every single Minister with a red box should be charged with selling Britain overseas. They should be making sure that they are trade ambassadors. To widen that point, we are missing the trick that hon. Members have huge influence in their constituencies. As mentioned, we are missing brokering opportunities overseas.