Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to build the capacity of trade unions and civil society groups in developing countries to engage in trade negotiations; and if he will make a statement.

The UK Government provides technical advice and skills training to governments in developing countries to build capacity to negotiate and benefit from trade and investment agreements through the Trade and Investment Advocacy Fund (TAF2+). We also deliver technical assistance for the African Continental Free Trade Area negotiations through the African Union Support Programme.

We support a range of organisations, including civil society groups, small-scale farmers and small manufacturing units to build technical skills to sustainably grow their businesses and benefit from wider trade opportunities, through, for example, the Trade, Enterprise and Employment programme in sub Saharan Africa, which we co-fund with Comic Relief.