Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to promote recognition of UK professional IT qualifications, including CITP status, in trade negotiations with international partners.

Provisions on the recognition of professional qualifications (RPQ) are an important part of the services chapters in the UK’s international trade agreements, including within the UK-Switzerland RPQ Agreement and our Free Trade Agreements with Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Australia, New Zealand and India.

DBT works closely with our overseas partners to promote the UK’s world-leading professional qualifications. Under our international arrangements DBT has committed to encourage our independent occupational regulators and professional membership bodies, including the British Computer Society, to consider pursuing RPQ agreements with international partners. DBT supports these bodies to do so.