Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2017 to Question 10040, how much of the amount paid in exit schemes in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17 was paid to (i) men and (ii) women.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade (DIT) came to existence in July 2016.
DIT’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) details the total paid in exit packages in 2016-17 and those paid under UK Trade and Investment (one of DIT’s predecessor organisations) in 2015-16.
Further information can also be found in the ARA on page 48 and 49:
Of the total exit packages paid in the ARA, covering 2015/16 and 2016/17, 49% was paid to men and 51% to women.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many of his Department's staff had a pay increase (a) above, (b) at and (c) less than one per cent since his Department's creation.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade (DIT) became a legal entity and an employer in its own right on 9th November 2016.
The first pay award by DIT is for the 2016/17 financial year and the award for grades below SCS (Senior Civil Servants) has not yet been finalised.
The overall pay increase for SCS staff for 2016/2017 was 1% in line with Cabinet Office and Treasury guidelines.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much has been paid to (a) men and (b) women who have left his Department under exit schemes since its creation.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Details of the number, type, compensation levels and cost of exits from Department for International Trade are routinely published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the cost of sickness pay to staff in his Department has been since it was established.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The Department for International Trade (DIT) became a legal entity and an employer in its own right on 9th November 2016. Since that date the total cost of sickness pay to UK staff within the Department is as follows:
DIT payroll: £88,660 (9th November 2016 – 30th June 2017)
UK Export Finance (UKEF) payroll: £68,159 (9th November 2016 – 30th 2017)
Total: £156,819
DIT and UKEF have reported data separately as two payroll providers are used.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he has taken to support progress towards doubling British exports by 2020.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In 2016, UK exports were £544.5 billion; an increase of 5.2% from 2015 and 22.6% from 2010. In order to sustain and improve this trend, the Department prioritises export promotion by identifying the sector and market combinations around the world with the most opportunity to deliver the largest increase in export value. Informed by this, we ensure that our staff working overseas are embedded in the right markets and are equipped with the sector skills required to drive demand for British goods and services.
The Government is also committed to ensuring that no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance from the private sector and has therefore doubled UK Export Finance’s (UKEF) total risk appetite to £5 billion, is increasing capacity for support in individual markets by up to 100%, and has increased the number of pre-approved local currencies in which UKEF can offer support from 10 to 40, enabling more overseas buyers of UK exports to pay in their own currency.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many contracts procured by his Department and its arms-length bodies require that the contractor pays those of its employees undertaking the work contracted for the real living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The Government believes that people have the right to a higher wage and not to be punished by higher taxes. As part of this, from April 2016, we introduced a new mandatory National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 25 and above, and this will rise to £7.50 an hour in April 2017. We insist that employers pay at least the National Minimum Wage.
The use of the Living Wage as specified by the Living Wage Foundation is not information actively monitored by the Department. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2017 to Question 65002, what the pay grade is of the 24 civil servants if his Department employed in the commercial function team.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The Department for International Trade (DIT) has 24 civil servants in the dedicated Commercial function which from SCS to AO and includes 2 fast streamers.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps his Department has taken to support the Wales Week in London initiative.
Answered by Alun Cairns
I am delighted that my Department is a founder partner of Wales Week in London and I pay tribute to the leadership shown by founders Dan Langford and Mike Jordan who initiated the plan.
The events not only showcase the dynamism of Wales but provide a springboard to international trade, showing the importance of the Union to Wales.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the (a) mean and (b) median pay was for staff in his Department who were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) white, (iv) from an ethnic minority background, (v) disabled and (vi) non-disabled in the most recent year for which information is available, broken down by (A) full-time and (B) part-time workers.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes much of this information each year, broken down by Civil Service organization, as part of their annual release of Civil Service Statistics. The latest data set from 2016 can be found on the ONS website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/civilservicestatistics/2016.
As the Department for International Trade (DIT) is newly formed, we have not had the opportunity to contribute to the most recent ONS publication. DIT’s statistics will be included in the next release, due for publication in March 2017.
DIT does not hold information on the breakdowns of ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the total pay bill was for (a) male and (b) female employees in his Department in 2015-16; and what the per capita spend from that pay bill for each man and woman was in that year.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The Department for International Trade was not yet formed in the 2015-16 financial year and therefore this data is not available.
The Civil Service has been publishing mean and median gender pay gaps for each department since 2008 as part of the annual release of Civil Service Statistics by the Office for National Statistics. The latest gender pay gap data (published in October earlier this year) can be found on the Office for National Statistics website. The Department for International Trade will contribute to the next release.