Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate she has made of (a) the number of officials in her Department involved in recording retained EU legislation for the purposes of the Retained EU Law Dashboard in the latest period for which figures are available and (b) the cost to the public purse of recording that information.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Around 15 Department for International Trade officials were involved in recording retained EU legislation for the purposes of the Retained EU Law (REUL) Dashboard. This is an estimate as work was carried out within teams who lead on relevant policy areas rather than in a dedicated REUL team, and others might have been involved in a more limited capacity. The work was not undertaken on a full-time basis, and the work was completed within a defined window of time.
There has been no additional non-pay cost to the public purse by creating the dashboard. The process was led by the Cabinet Office, who commissioned Government Departments to find REUL within their legislation and compile an authoritative account of where REUL sits on the UK statute book.
The dashboard itself is made by the Government Strategic Management Office and is hosted on Tableau Public, which is a free platform. It will continue to be updated at no additional cost.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the UK’s trade agreements with (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand on the economy.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Impact Assessment of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the UK and Australia and the Impact Assessment of the FTA between the UK and New Zealand are available on gov.uk.
The Australia and New Zealand FTAs are expected to increase bilateral trade by 53% and 59% respectively in the long run and boost the UK economy by £2.3 billion and £800 million when compared to projected levels of GDP in 2035. Take-home pay for UK workers could increase by £900 million and £200 million respectively, when compared to 2019 levels.
We have committed to publishing a biennial FTA monitoring report, and a comprehensive ex-post evaluation report for both these agreements within 5 years of their entry into force.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much was spent by her Department on end of year bonus payments for members of staff involved in export support roles in (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19, (d) 2019-20 and (e) 2020-21.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade sets aside 1.3% of its paybill for bonus payments in line with Civil Service rules, half of this will be for end of year bonuses and will be attributable to staff supporting exports. We do not hold a breakdown by role type. Information on performance related pay at the Department is published under Transparency data returns.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2021 to Question 17695 on Investment and Trade: Wales, what her Department’s allocated budget is for the (a) establishment and (b) running of the proposed trade and investment hub in Scotland.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The budget allocated to the Department for International Trade (DIT) Scotland hub for the current financial year is £714,394 to cover staff pay for the initial team. We expect costs to increase as our delivery progresses under the Places for Growth programme, which will see DIT grow its presence in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast and Darlington. The budget allocated for running the DIT Scotland hub in future years will be determined after the upcoming spending review has concluded.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2021 to Question 17695 on Investment and Trade: Wales, what her Department’s allocated budget is for the (a) establishment and (b) running of the proposed trade and investment hub in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The budget allocated to the Department for International Trade (DIT) Northern Ireland hub for the current financial year is £366,138 to cover staff pay for the initial team. We expect costs to increase as our delivery progresses under the Places for Growth programme, which will see DIT grow its presence in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast and Darlington. The budget allocated for running the DIT Northern Ireland hub in future years will be determined after the upcoming spending review has concluded.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what her Departments allocated budget is for the (a) establishment, and (b) running of the proposed trade and investment hub in Wales.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The budget allocated to the Department for International Trade (DIT) Wales hub for the current financial year is £419k, to cover staff pay for the initial team. We expect costs to increase as our delivery progresses under the Places for Growth programme, which will see the DIT grow its presence in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast and Darlington. The budget allocated for running the DIT Wales hub in future years will be determined after the upcoming spending review has concluded.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department conducted an impact assessment on the establishment of a Trade and Investment Hub in Cardiff.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No impact assessment was conducted on the establishment of a Trade and Investment Hub in Cardiff. Government-led research included in a Board of Trade report published in March showed exports support 6.5m jobs across the UK, 74% of which are outside London. The research estimates jobs directly and indirectly supported by exports pay around 7% higher than the national median, with Office for National Statistics estimating that goods-exporting businesses are also 21% more productive. Exports and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will be central to this Government’s mission to ‘level up’ the UK economy. Given this context, the Trade and Investment Hubs in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast and Darlington will be established as part of the Department for International Trade’s refreshed strategy to boost exports and bring the benefits of the government’s global trade policy to the whole of the UK.Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of the proposed five-year increase in postal rates to the US on the profitability of UK SME exporters.
Answered by Paul Scully
International postage rates are agreed through the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialised body of the United Nations. The postal operator that sends an item to another country remunerates the destination postal operator for processing and delivering the item. The costs the receiving postal operator can claim are agreed on a multilateral basis.
In September 2019, the UPU agreed to reform the remuneration rates to reflect the true cost of delivery. Member countries unanimously agreed on a proposal that committed most members to pay the same rates for bulky letters and small packets, effective from January 2020. In addition, countries meeting certain conditions, would be able to self-declare their rates from 1 July 2020. The US is the only country that currently meets these conditions.
In the negotiations on the reforms to the remuneration rates, the UK sought to minimise the impact on our citizens and businesses, ensure the continued flow of trade and maintain the integrity of the international postal system.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of the increased postal rates to the US on the profitability of UK SME exporters.
Answered by Paul Scully
International postage rates are agreed through the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialised body of the United Nations. The postal operator that sends an item to another country remunerates the destination postal operator for processing and delivering the item. The costs the receiving postal operator can claim are agreed on a multilateral basis.
In September 2019, the UPU agreed to reform the remuneration rates to reflect the true cost of delivery. Member countries unanimously agreed on a proposal that committed most members to pay the same rates for bulky letters and small packets, effective from January 2020. In addition, countries meeting certain conditions, would be able to self-declare their rates from 1 July 2020. The US is the only country that currently meets these conditions.
In the negotiations on the reforms to the remuneration rates, the UK sought to minimise the impact on our citizens and businesses, ensure the continued flow of trade and maintain the integrity of the international postal system.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the biggest pay rise given to someone in her Department was in (a) percentage and (b) cash terms in the last 12 months.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The biggest pay rise given to employees in percentage and cash terms over the last 12 months for the Department for International Trade (DIT), including UK Export Finance (UKEF), is in the table below. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £100 to protect individual’s identities.
| (a) highest percentage | (b) highest cash value |
DIT | 21% | £15,900 |
UKEF | 29.6% | £11,700 |
For DIT, the pay increase was the consequence of a SCS1 (Deputy Director) being promoted to SCS2 (Director) via fair and open competition in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles and moving to the band minima of their new grade. The Civil Service pay range for SCS2 with effect from 1 April 2020 is £93,000 - £162,500.
For UKEF, the pay increase was the result of an employee at the minimum of their existing pay band being promoted to the minimum pay of the next pay band.