Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the Government's policy is on where Prime Minister's Trade Envoys should stay when visiting their country of service.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The preferred option is for Trade Envoys is to stay at the Residence of the Ambassador or High Commissioner when visiting their respective markets although for a range of operational reasons this is not always possible.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much from the public purse has been spent on hotel accommodation overseas for the Prime Minister's Trade Envoys in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The table below provides the number of international visits each year made by the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys over each the last 10 years and travel costs (including UK travel). Along with hotel costs each year over the last 5 years
Year | Number of visits | Travel costs | Hotel costs (from 2018-19 only) |
2012/13 | 0 | £0.00 | NA |
2013/14 | 16 | £55,741 | NA |
2014/15 | 46 | £116,541 | NA |
2015/16 | 29 | £68,717 | NA |
2016/17 | 69 | £202,771 | N/A |
2017/18 | 58 | £154,067 | £9816.00 |
2018/19 | 56 | £149,548 | £5919.00 |
2019/20 | 38 | £104,848 | £6820.00 |
2020/21 | 2 | £739.00 | £90.00 |
2021/22 | 18 | £59,422 | £4144.00 |
Totals: | 332 | £912,394 | £26,789 |
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much the Government has spent on travel by the Prime Minister's Trade Envoys in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The table below provides the number of international visits each year made by the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys over each the last 10 years and travel costs (including UK travel). Along with hotel costs each year over the last 5 years
Year | Number of visits | Travel costs | Hotel costs (from 2018-19 only) |
2012/13 | 0 | £0.00 | NA |
2013/14 | 16 | £55,741 | NA |
2014/15 | 46 | £116,541 | NA |
2015/16 | 29 | £68,717 | NA |
2016/17 | 69 | £202,771 | N/A |
2017/18 | 58 | £154,067 | £9816.00 |
2018/19 | 56 | £149,548 | £5919.00 |
2019/20 | 38 | £104,848 | £6820.00 |
2020/21 | 2 | £739.00 | £90.00 |
2021/22 | 18 | £59,422 | £4144.00 |
Totals: | 332 | £912,394 | £26,789 |
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many overseas visits the Prime Minister's Trade Envoys have made in an official capacity in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The table below provides the number of international visits each year made by the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys over each the last 10 years and travel costs (including UK travel). Along with hotel costs each year over the last 5 years
Year | Number of visits | Travel costs | Hotel costs (from 2018-19 only) |
2012/13 | 0 | £0.00 | NA |
2013/14 | 16 | £55,741 | NA |
2014/15 | 46 | £116,541 | NA |
2015/16 | 29 | £68,717 | NA |
2016/17 | 69 | £202,771 | N/A |
2017/18 | 58 | £154,067 | £9816.00 |
2018/19 | 56 | £149,548 | £5919.00 |
2019/20 | 38 | £104,848 | £6820.00 |
2020/21 | 2 | £739.00 | £90.00 |
2021/22 | 18 | £59,422 | £4144.00 |
Totals: | 332 | £912,394 | £26,789 |
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps she has taken to ensure all trade deals include the strongest animal welfare standards.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Decisions on animal welfare standards are a matter for the UK and are made separately from trade agreements. All food imports must comply with our high standards and the Government is working to secure world-class free trade agreements that uphold our manifesto commitment to not compromise on the UK’s animal welfare standards for which our country is rightly renowned.
We have secured ground-breaking provisions on animal welfare with Australia and New Zealand. This includes a standalone animal welfare chapter, a non-regression clause and a comprehensive partnership to work with Australia and New Zealand, including internationally, to progress animal welfare.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of staff employed by her Department are from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
Answered by James Duddridge
As of 31 March 2022, 26% civil service employees in the Department for International Trade (DIT) self-reported their ethnicity as ethnic minority (this does not include White ethnic minorities).
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of people employed by her Department are women.
Answered by James Duddridge
As of 31 March 2022, 48% of Civil Service employees who worked in the Department for International Trade (DIT) were women.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent progress she has made in the negotiations for a free trade agreement with the Government of India; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Conor Burns
The UK and India concluded the fifth round of negotiations on 29 July. The former Secretary of State wrote to chairs of the International Trade Committee and International Agreements Committee on the 10th August with an update and the correspondence have been placed in the House libraries.
Government updated on progress in a statement, which can be found here. Both sides have been in intensive negotiations over the summer with the aim of concluding the majority of talks later this year.
We continue to make good progress delivering a comprehensive free trade agreement.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department spent on energy in each of the last three years.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Department has spent the following on energy in the last three financial years:-
2019-2020 - £918,000
2020-2021 - £428,000
2021-2022 - £308,000
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many departmental ministerial visits have been made to sub-Saharan Southern Africa since 2019.
Answered by James Duddridge
Department for International Trade Ministers have visited sub–Saharan Africa once since the start of 2019. Former Minister for Exports, the Member for Finchley and Golders Green, visited Nigeria and South Africa in May 2022.
As a former FCO, DFID and FCDO Africa Minister I will be visiting the continent more frequently and will lead on development issues in the department and will help grow Africa out of poverty.