Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what is the total cost to the public purse of the trade envoy programme; and whether a trade envoy has been removed for failing to meet performance benchmarks.

Over the last three years, the Department has spent, on average, the following amounts on the UK Trade Envoy Programme, including DBT staff costs. We intend the overall cost of the programme to reduce during the next financial year.

* The figure in column two is lower than other years because the election resulted in the programme being paused for several months.

UK Trade Envoys must adhere to the seven principles of public life as set out by the Committee on Standards in Public Life and can be removed should they not meet such standards.