Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff are on secondment to his Department from the private sector; from which companies they are seconded; what roles they perform; and what the cost to the public purse will be of their secondment.

Following her appointment on 13 July 2016 the Prime Minister established the Department for International Trade (DIT). The DIT aggregates UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), UK Export and Finance (UKEF), Trade Policy Units from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), as well as some new hires.

Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes the Secretary of State as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes.

Since the department was formed in July there have been no secondees appointed from the Private Sector. Secondees previously in post with syndicate organisations have moved across to DIT on legacy terms as tabled below. These are seconded from a number of companies and occupy different roles across the department and across grades.

* The majority of secondees are funded by seconding companies. Costs are based on collective monthly salaries of DIT funded secondees.