Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of UK businesses which have relocated to outside of UK territory since (a) 23 June 2016, (b) 31 January 2020 and (c) 1 January 2021; and if he will make a statement.

The Department works closely alongside other Government Departments such as HM Treasury to monitor economic metrics like Foreign Direct Investment, however these statistics do not provide a comprehensive assessment of where a business has chosen to set up a site outside UK territory as opposed to instances where businesses have chosen to fully relocate.

Internationally, the UK will operate an independent trade policy for the first time in 50 years. Our focus now is on making sure that any business that is still facing challenges gets the support they need to trade effectively with the EU, and that all businesses benefit from the new free trade agreements we are striking around the world.