Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Green and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Thursday 21st July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Green (Chesham and Amersham) (LD)]

T4. There was cross-party agreement during the urgent question earlier this week that Parliament has not been given the opportunity to properly scrutinise, debate or vote on the Australia trade deal, despite assurances from the Government that time would be made for debate. I heard the Secretary of State’s response to my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael). What assurances can she give that future trade agreements will make it to the Floor of the House for debate and a vote before they are ratified?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

As I set out earlier, we have a robust process of transparency and we will continue to follow it as we bring more ratified free trade agreements to the House in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Green and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Thursday 3rd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Green (Chesham and Amersham) (LD)]

1. What steps she is taking to improve the application process for export licences.

[The Secretary of State for International Trade (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

The Export Control Joint Unit has statutory responsibility for the licensing of controlled exports. In 2020, it administered more than 16,000 licences. The ECJU provides guidance and training on the application process. Work is presently under way to modernise the application process and the technology that supports it, to make it more efficient and more transparent.

[Sarah Green]

Trying to export goods is currently a slow and inefficient process. One toy business in Chesham and Amersham told me that it now spends significantly more time on the paperwork than it ever did before. A recent survey of businesses in Buckinghamshire showed that 58% have experienced a rise in cost due to an increase in the same red tape. What proactive, practical steps are the Government taking to help businesses of all sizes to export their goods to the rest of the world?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

In 2020, the ECJU administered nearly 16,000 standard individual export licences. It completed 62% within 20 working days, against a target of 70%, and 85% within 60 working days, against a target of 99%. That is why we have brought in work to modernise and streamline the application process so that it will be more efficient and—further to the hon. Lady’s point—will allow businesses to know that they can use the system as effectively and with as little red tape as possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Green and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Thursday 20th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Green (Chesham and Amersham) (LD)]

T4. Can the Secretary of State confirm whether she is still undertaking discussions with UK trade partners on inserting clauses on investor-state dispute settlement systems into future trade deals? There is evidence that they are opaque and could open the UK to law suits from multinational corporations. Will she confirm whether she is still pursuing them?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

Every free trade agreement is negotiated in relation to the other country and we will continue to work with those as we build these, to look at how we best bring together free trade agreements that will be beneficial to UK businesses and consumers.