APPENDIX 53
Supplementary memorandum submitted by
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI)
I was grateful to you and the Committee for
the opportunity to give evidence on the Future of UK Manufacturing:
Marketing UK Plc, on Tuesday 27 February 2007. I was also pleased
to be able to present to the committee progress on implementing
the UKTI Strategy, "Prosperity in a Changing World"
and to respond to your questions. In response to a few, I promised
to send you notes specifically on the allocation of resources
in Brazil (Q485); international business specialists (Q501 and
Q502); access to language training for spouses (Q558); and comparative
cost benefit analysis (Q566).
I was particularly appreciative of the commitment
of the Committee to promoting Britain's trade and investment performance
and hope to have the opportunity of giving further evidence at
some further point.
Q485—Chairman: Resource allocation in Brazil
and Mercosur
Resource levels across UKTI's overseas network,
including in Brazil, have in the recent past been affected by
the requirement to:
(a) secure savings of £20 million in
UKTI's overseas network under Spending Review 2004 (SR2004); and
(b) reinforce resources in the emerging markets
under the new UKTI strategy by reductions in other parts of the
network.
Following a review of our commercial resources
in Brazil in response to SR2004 it was decided to close UKTI's
operations in the regional offices of Belo Horizonte and Curitiba
in the autumn of 2005. There was little demonstrable evidence
that they were contributing significantly to UKTI's Brazil network's
business objectives and targets in support of UK customers. This
resulted in the loss of four local jobs and contributed to network
savings required under SR2004.
Following the launch of the UKTI strategy in
2006, it was agreed, in recognition of the high growth nature
of the Brazil market, to increase resource as follows:
— two local inward investment posts
in Sao Paulo;
— one UK based trade post in Brasilia
to work primarily on the Joint Economic and Trade Council (JETCO)
with Brazil;
— one UK based trade post in Rio focusing
on the oil and gas sector;
— one UK based trade post in Sao Paulo
to lead on the development of business opportunities across the
priority sectors of agriculture, aerospace, biotechnology, engineering
and healthcare; and
— one local trade post in Rio.
In summary, there was a reduction of four posts
as a result of the closure of the regional offices and an increase
of six to take effect over the period 2006-07 and 2007-08 as a
result of the new strategy. Hence the figures that appeared in
the answer of the 6 February to Mr Peter Luff's PQ are correct.
As far as reductions in other UKTI teams in
Mercosur countries are concerned, day to day commercial assistance
in Paraguay was discontinued when the British Embassy in Asuncion
closed as part of the Spending Review in 2004. However, lobbying
on behalf of UK companies is carried out on a case by case basis
from the British Embassy in Buenos Aires. As part of the resource
redeployments in UKTI's overseas network under the 2006 strategy,
the UKTI section of the Embassy in Montevideo (1.9 staff) is to
be closed at the end of March 2008. Lobbying for commercial purposes
will still be carried out by the Ambassador in Montevideo on a
case by case basis. All other resources are as shown in the answer
to Peter Luff's PQ.
Q501—Chairman: Role of International Business
Specialists
The UKTI strategy "Prosperity in a Changing
World" commits UKTI to bring in to the organisation new private
sector skills to meet the requirements of our clients.
The International Business Specialist scheme
is one way in which we were already making use of private sector
expertise to support our customers. We currently have 12 private
sector secondees working in UKTI, nine under the International
Business Specialist scheme and three under the Short Term Business
Attachment programme.
In addition, we are now deploying 17 Sector
Champions from the private sector through a third party contractor.
Together, our private sector secondees and the Sector Champions
bring to the organisation current business, market, technical
and sector knowledge and a range of contacts within their field.
They work in front-line customer facing roles and support UKTI
in delivering its objectives and meeting its targets. They can
play a leading role in helping UKTI to develop its overarching
UK sector strategies and in identifying priority sub-sectors,
technology and overseas markets. They also support the organisation
in raising the UK's profile overseas and marketing the UK's strengths
and areas of expertise. These private sector individuals also
bring industry best practice to UKTI and help bridge knowledge
gaps.
We are also deploying private sector skills
under our new R&D programme and our High Growth Markets Pilot
Programme. The Research & Development (R&D) programme
will provide in-depth support for innovative and R&D-intensive
companies. This will involve 20 contracted R&D Technology
Specialists who will work with UKTI and other government staff
in the UK and overseas to draw together teams from their network
of contacts to:
— promote the benefits of undertaking
R&D in the UK to multinationals and overseas companies;
— help to collaborate with UK companies,
universities and/or research organisations;
— help R&D intensive UK companies
to penetrate overseas markets and multinational supply chains;
and
— support the sustainable internationalisation
of new R&D intensive UK companies.
The High Growth Markets Programme will deploy
up to 15 private sector Business Advisors who will work with our
UK clients to facilitate market entry and identify new opportunities
in specific emerging markets.
Q502—Chairman: International Business Specialists
Our International Business Specialists currently
cover the following sectors:
Rail, Water, Environment, Education, Creative
Industries, Oil and Gas, and Ports. Our Short Term Business Attachments
cover Aerospace and Water. If we include all the private sector
consultants delivering services for our customers, as mentioned
in the answer above, we currently have specialist sector or technology
coverage in ICT, Creative Media, Life Sciences, Environment &
Energy, Water, Oil & Gas, High Performance Engineering, Aerospace,
Ports, Rail, Financial Services and Education & Training.
Q558—Rob Marris: Access to language training
for spouses
Staff occupying UKTI positions overseas do so
on the terms and conditions of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(FCO). The FCO is currently reviewing its Language Training Policy.
The FCO recognises the need of spouses/partners
to obtain basic language skills in order to live safely and comfortably
overseas. As a result of consultation with spouses/partners and
with the Diplomatic Service Families Association, future training
will be more flexible and accessible, in order to fit in with
individuals' needs.
The FCO will offer:
— Group part-time lunch and evening
courses at the FCO or part-time courses at approved colleges outside
London.
— E-learning courses, CD-Roms, language
cassettes and links to other on-line learning.
One to one classes will not however be available
unless there are exceptional circumstances or the spouse/partner
needs the language for representational purposes on arrival or
wishes to be considered under the DDA.
Q566—Rob Marris: Comparative figures on
cost benefit analysis
Comparative figures on cost benefit analysis
are not currently available in the way the Committee has requested.
This is because different organisations use different evaluation
methods. They are not, therefore, directly comparable. To make
an assessment of how others evaluate their interventions requires
a detailed study. Resources permitting, this is a project UKTI
is keen to consider in the future. We will ensure that Committee
members are kept informed of developments in this area.
3 April 2007
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