Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the effect on the economy of a dual tariff regime for protecting UK (a) beef, (b) poultry, (c) pig, (d) dairy and (e) egg farmers from imports that do not meet UK standards; and what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on those tariffs.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government prepares a scoping assessment examining the economic impacts of planned Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) ahead of each of its new trade negotiations. These scoping assessments for the US, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand are available on the gov.uk website and include an assessment of the possible impacts of tariff liberalisation on the UK agriculture sector.
We will not compromise on our high standards of food safety and animal welfare in any trade negotiations.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he plans to take to ensure that future trade deals do not require the NHS to outsource further services to private providers.
Answered by George Hollingbery
I refer the Honourable Friend for Westmorland and Lonsdale to the answer I gave to the Member for Midlothian on 26 February 2019, UIN 224364.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will ensure before the UK signs any future trade agreement, he will lay before Parliament an assessment of the potential economic, social, human rights and environmental impacts of that agreement on the UK.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The Government will come forward shortly with its approach to the scrutiny of future free trade agreements. As outlined in the trade White Paper ‘Preparing for our Future UK Trade Policy’, the UK is committed to a transparent approach to international trade.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much money his Department has spent on bottled water in each year since its establishment.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The department does not purchase bottled water or water cooler bottles, and has not since its establishment. The water coolers use water fed directly from the mains supply.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many Departmental Pool Car Services have been provided to his Department since it was created; and what the country of origin was of each such car.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Since the department’s creation in July 2016 one car has been provided as part of the Department Pool Car Services. This car, was manufactured and built in the UK.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many (a) official and (b) official sensitive documents have been recorded as lost by his Department since 8 May 2015.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The information requested is not held centrally. All losses are assessed and responded to individually and on a case by case basis with all possible mitigating actions being taken and in full compliance of our legal and other responsibilities.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what visits to which countries each of the Government's trade envoys have made on since May 2015.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade is responsible for promoting British trade across the world and ensuring the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys work tirelessly to increase exports and drum up demand for British business in around 50 markets worldwide.
The Trade Envoy programme has primarily focused on emerging markets and markets where there are varied and significant opportunities in a range of sectors which would benefit from high level engagement, but which have historically received less ministerial attention.
Since May 2015, there have been 66 visits by Trade Envoys to their specific markets.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the return on investment of its marketing budget in 2016-17.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade’s (DIT) marketing activity is subject to rigorous targets for Return on Investment, relating to the value of export wins where marketing activity, such as media promotion, advertising, trade events or missions, is involved.
Assessment of the return on investment of marketing activity in 2016/17 is still on-going, as marketing continues until the end of the financial year. Furthermore, leads generated through DIT marketing activity are tracked over a longer term as they take time to be converted into business wins.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the hourly pay-rate is for his Department's cleaning staff.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade is currently a tenant in other buildings that belong to several other government departments. We do not therefore directly employ cleaners, as the contract is all managed by the property management company for the main landlord.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the cost to date has been of his Department's trade and investment campaign, launched on 25 January 2017; and how much of that cost has been incurred through advertising in international airport hubs.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The total budget for the Department’s trade and investment marketing campaign covering April 2016 to March 2017 is £12.3m. Of this, £2.4m is being spent on promotion in international hub airports as part of a multichannel marketing approach to target international decision makers. The campaign aims to attract high quality inward investment leads and business opportunities for British companies. The initiative is part of the government’s GREAT Britain campaign, which has so far secured confirmed economic returns of £2.5 billion for the UK, with a further £2 billion of returns currently being appraised.