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20 Apr 2009 : Column 407W—continued
Mr. Thomas: The Mutual Recognition Regulation places two main obligations on EU member states—to ensure that specified fair and transparent procedures are followed when enforcing rules which exclude from their market products lawfully marketed elsewhere in the EU, and to establish a contact point to provide information on these rules.
An exercise to identify affected UK rules has been completed. Officials have been working with other Departments and enforcement authorities responsible for these rules in order to ensure that their procedures are in line with the requirements of the regulation.
The product contact point for the regulation is being established within the Businesslink.gov.uk website, including new guidance pages within the international trade area of the site. Guidance pages on individual regulations are being amended or expanded as necessary to provide the additional information specified in the regulation.
The regulation comes into effect on 13 May 2009. New enforcement procedures will take effect from this date, and the new section on Businesslink.gov.uk is expected to go live by this date.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many cases the Action Single Market/UK SOLVIT centre had handled on the latest date for which figures are available. [268450]
Mr. Thomas: The latest figures available for the number of cases handled on SOLVIT is for the period January to December 2008. During that period the Action Single Market/UK SOLVIT centre dealt with 247 cases.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether his Department has designated a product contact point in respect of the Mutual Recognition Regulation (EC) 764/2008. [268451]
Mr. Thomas: The product contact point for the Mutual Recognition Regulation will be located within the Businesslink.gov.uk website. Businesslink.gov.uk already provides the majority of the information on technical rules required by the regulation, so locating the contact point here minimises the cost and takes advantage of the site's high brand recognition and traffic.
India: Overseas Trade
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to increase trade between the UK and India; how much his Department and its predecessor spent on the promotion of trade between the UK and India in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [268503]
Mr. Thomas:
UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is the principal Government organisation for the promotion of trade and investment with India. In 2007 UKTI increased its staff in India by 18 per cent. to better support British business and inward investment. In
2007-08 and 2008-09 UKTI allocated grant funding to the newly created UK India Business Council (UKIBC)—a business-led organisation specifically tasked with supporting Government in the promotion of bilateral trade, business and investment with the two countries. We have also refreshed the UK-India Joint Economic Trade Committee (JETCO) dialogue, which my noble Friend the Secretary of State co-chaired with Minister Nath this January as part of a wider trade and investment visit to India.
We continue actively to develop trade and investment links, through the ongoing work of our team in India and the UK, and have commissioned research by the UKIBC into the opportunities represented by India’s second tier cities—the results of which will be released shortly. We are also recruiting a supply chain specialist and have put in place a new initiative, Fiscal Compass, which will help UK companies capitalise on overseas business opportunities arising from fiscal stimulus spending, including in India. My noble Friend the Minister for Trade and Investment is planning to visit India later this year, to further promote trade and investment.
| Staff and establishment costs ,( 1)( , 2) for the UKTI team in India over the last 2 years were: | |
| £ | |
| (1) 2008-09 figures are not yet available. (2) Staff and establishment cost for UKTI in the years prior to 2006-07 were included in the general FCO compliment in India and are therefore not specifically identifiable. | |
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many officials in his Department at each grade work on the promotion of trade between the UK and India; and what the equivalent numbers were for the Department of Trade and Industry in (a) 1983, (b) 1987 and (c) each year between 1998 and 2007. [268510]
Mr. Thomas: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is the principal body concerned with promoting trade and investment with India. The network in India consists of officials (full-time equivalent) at the following grades:
| AA | AO | EO | HEO | SEO | Grade 7 | Grade 6 | SCS | Total | |
Historical staffing levels for the period 1998 to 2004 are not available in a format that provides a meaningful comparison with the subsequent data.
The South Asia Team in International Group, UKTI consists of seven officials and is predominantly focused on India but it also has responsibility for trade and investment issues in other South Asian markets.
Similarly other officials in UKTI and BERR contribute towards the promotion of trade between the UK and India but it is not possible to quantify exact staffing levels as this is only part of their role.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much was allocated by his Department to the UK-India Business Council in each of the last two years; for what purposes; and if he will make a statement. [268516]
Mr. Thomas: In each of the two financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09 we paid to the UK-India Business Council (UKIBC) a grant of £1,000,000.00.
The purpose of the grant is to finance the UKIBC’s advice and assistance to UK businesses doing or seeking to do business in India. This complements the services offered by UKTI in the UK.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assistance his Department provides to Indian businesses wishing to (a) invest in the UK and (b) take part in joint ventures with UK companies; how much was made available for these purposes in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement. [268517]
Mr. Thomas: UKTI, within BERR, provides services to companies not only from India, but across the globe. This includes: promoting the attractiveness of the UK to investors; a free consultancy service to foreign owned companies wishing to locate in the UK; direct access to Government Departments (and HMG policy) and introductions to private sector advisors wherever possible. Relationships between UKTI staff in London and overseas and with the UK regions provide a seamless service to clients.
UKTI, working with the regional development agencies and the devolved Administrations, maintains links with strategic companies once they have invested in the UK via the Investor Development programme. UKTI systematically gathers feedback on issues of concern to established inward investors, bringing these to the attention of relevant Government Departments and Ministers as appropriate.
UKTI does not offer specific services around joint ventures or mergers and acquisitions but provides services to assist with the trade and expansion efforts of companies
that establish in the UK. UKTI does not provide finance to companies locating in the UK, but does provide strategic and operational advice via the UKTI/RDA/private sector networks.
Israel: Overseas Trade
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps (a) he has taken since September 2008 and (b) plans to take during the next 12 months to increase trade between the UK and Israel; how much his Department (i) has spent since September 2008 and (ii) plans to spend during the next 12 months on the promotion of trade between the UK and Israel; what recent representations he has received on increasing trade between the UK and Israel; and if he will make a statement. [268504]
Mr. Thomas: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) provides a range of support services to British companies wishing to trade with or invest in Israel, through commercial teams based in both the UK and the British embassy in Tel Aviv.
UKTI support focuses, in particular, on business opportunities in high technology sectors, including biotechnology, health care, aerospace, information and communication technology, the environmental industries and financial and legal services. Information on commercial events in Israel is posted on the UKTI website (www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk) along with details of specific business opportunities in the market.
UKTI supports the work of the Israel British Business Council (IBBC) including bi-annual meetings in Tel Aviv and London, and also supports a broad range of activities aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investment, including trade missions to Israel, inward missions by Israeli firms to trade fairs in the UK and promotional events aimed at encouraging Israeli companies to list in London and do business which brings benefits to Britain.
Information on annual expenditure on trade promotion is unavailable due to the length of time it would take to research these figures.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much trade with Israel contributed to the UK’s gross domestic product in each of the last two years; what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on increasing trade between the UK and Israel; and if he will make a statement. [268505]
Mr. Thomas: The benefits of international trade to gross domestic product (GDP) result from greater economic efficiency due to a combination of increased competition in markets, relative comparative advantages, economies of scale, increased opportunities for learning, and greater incentives for innovation. Due to the difficulty of differentiating between the impact of trade and other factors on growth, it is not possible to quantify precisely the impact of trade with another country on GDP.
The following table indicates the scale of UK trade in goods and services to Israel for the years 2006-07 as a proportion of GDP:
| 2006 | 2007 | |
Geographical data for trade in 2008 are due to be published at the end of July.
I have not met my Israeli counterpart but there are regular exchanges between officials.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much was allocated by his Department to the Israel Britain Business Council in each of the last two years; for what purposes; and if he will make a statement. [268513]
Mr. Thomas: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) allocates £25,000 annually for the activities of the Israel-Britain Business Council (IBBC). This funding supports UKTI’s efforts to increase trade and investment with Israel. UKTI officials work closely with both the director of the IBBC and other UK members, to try to ensure the best fit between the activities of the Business Council and UKTI’s strategic priorities for business with Israel, including the financial services, health care and high technology sectors.
Kenya: Overseas Trade
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the monetary value of trade between Kenya and the UK was in 2008. [269481]
Mr. Thomas: According to HM Revenue and Customs Overseas Trade Statistics, in 2008 UK exports of goods to Kenya were worth about £194 million and UK imports of goods from Kenya were worth about £316 million.
The Office for National Statistics is likely to publish its first estimates of 2008 UK trade in services with Kenya on 31 July. Their Balance of Payments Pink Book estimates for 2007 trade in services were UK exports to Kenya worth about £136 million and UK imports from Kenya worth about £182 million.
Legal Opinion
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost was of external legal services engaged by his Department in each year since its establishment. [251361]
Mr. McFadden: Since this Department was established in July 2007, it has spent the following on external legal services:
| £ million | |
| (1) From July onwards. (2) Up to 22 January 2009. | |
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