5 UKTI trade services
101. UKTI provides a whole range of trade service
products. It works with both SMEs and large companies; it works
in the UK as well as overseas markets, with a focus on emerging
high growth markets. It is also tasked with the promotion of specific
sectors. In this section of our Report, we consider these services.
SMEs
102. About ninety percent of UKTI's trade service
work is with SMEs.[115]
The UKTI works with both SMEs which are completely new to exporting
through its Passport to Export scheme and SMEs who are already
exporting but who wish to expand through its Gateway to Growth
programme.
PASSPORT TO EXPORT
103. For SMEs new to exporting, UKTI offers a range
of support services under its Passport to Export Scheme:
- Access to a local International
Trade Advisor to help develop a plan of action;
- Specialist help with tackling cultural and language
issues; and
- Advice on how to go about conducting market research.[116]
104. UTKI states that companies looking for UKTI
support will be provided with an assessment of their ability to
export, help with an action plan to get them started, training
to help develop their capability, and help to put their plans
into action, including support to find the right market and to
make their first visit. According to UKTI, since its creation
in 2001, the Passport to Export service has supported around 14,000
companies.[117]
105. Phil Orford from the Forum of Private Businesses
(FPB) explained the importance of support for businesses when
beginning on the road to exports:
There is a real difference in going from trading
within your town, your county or your region, or even within the
UK, to taking that step to international trade, and we certainly
believe that there's a lot more that could be done in terms of
workshops on export readiness, bringing in practical mentors,
those who do it day in day out, to try and break down some of
the perception barriers that exist within businesses that have
a desire to export but don't really know how to take that next
step.[118]
106. Commenting on SME support, Andrew Cave from
FSB told us that a survey of his members gave favourable feedback
on the Passport to Export scheme:
83% find the services very useful and particularly
the Passport to Export scheme, which is very much looking at readiness
and getting businesses ready for exporting. So I think our plea
would be not to try and reinvent the wheel. There are some good
schemes there at the moment, and what we need to do is make sure
that more businesses are aware of them.[119]
107. Overall, Passport to Export is well-received
by business but there remains more to be done. We are concerned
at how this is to be achieved with fewer resources to pay for
training and fewer trade advisers out in the regions helping SMEs.
The Department, and UKTI in particular, must guard against relying
on statistics and process activity to demonstrate success in delivery.
Results for business is the only real measurement of the programme's
success.
GATEWAY TO GLOBAL GROWTH
108. Gateway to Global Growth was launched on 1 April
2009.[120] UKTI said
it was targeted at helping SMEs, with exporting experience, to
raise their game, including entering more challenging markets
overseas.[121] It differs
from the Passport to Export scheme in that it focuses on capabilities
for widening and diversifying overseas business, and places greater
emphasis on referrals to other services, including charged-for
help from private sector providers. According to the Department's
figures, by the end of February 2011, nearly 3,000 companies had
joined the programme.[122]
109. FSB recommended that more priority should be
given to Gateway.[123]
FPB said that their research indicated that there was greater
demand than supply for the service.[124]
110. We received little, if any, evidence on the
Gateway to Global Growth but we note that the programme was a
key factor in UKTI winning a global trade promotion award. We
recommend the Department provides us with details on its assessment
of the service in light of customer feedback. We remain concerned
by the proposed cut in companies being served over the spending
review period.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
111. UKTI said there were also a number of specific
services which were often accessed as part of the Gateway and
Passport programmes but which could also be taken in isolation.
These included free advice from professional market researchers
on how to conduct market research, as well as the option of a
grant towards approved market research projects and a subsidised
review from a communications expert on how to overcome cultural
barriers to exporting.[125]
This service also offers advice on labelling and website design.[126]
112. UKTI is also able to provide detailed, bespoke
subsidised help from UKTI staff, many of them locally engaged
with local knowledge, in our Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates
overseas.[127] This
assistance includes tailored information, contacts and on the
spot assistance, as well as help to launch a product or host events
for potential customers.[128]
Andrew Cave from the Federation of Small Businesses saw great
value in these services and declared "we'd like UKTI to keep
doing what it does, but with much more exposure".[129]
Phil Orford from Forum of Private Businesses provided us
with his organisation's survey data which also showed that greater
dissemination of information was necessary:
It was lack of information about prospective
markets that was most frequently cited by members as a reason
for their inability to export. If anything, we would like to see
UKTI having a bigger brief on market intelligence. Market intelligence
in the domestic market is increasingly important, whether that
be related to customers' credit ratings or sectors or demographics.[130]
113. In addition Andrew Cave told us that FSB members
were:
Concerned that [UKTI] success is gauged by how
many meetings are organised rather than how many contracts come
out as a result of those meetings, and for a small business, where
every pound and every hour counts, they can't really afford the
time or the money to engage in such activities unless they know
there's going to be a measurable output at the end.[131]
Andrew Scott from CBI agreed saying:
We think that some of the measurements have been
a bit too much driven [...] by literally headcounts and box ticking.
I think there has been a concern that when you talk, for instance,
to some of the people on the ground in posts abroad, they find
that what they are required to be doing is just in danger of becoming
the numbers game, rather than focusing on the outcomes.[132]
The British Chambers of Commerce suggested:
UKTI's targets should be changed to monitor the
value of results associated with help given, such as growth in
export sales and employment generated, rather than purely on the
number of companies assisted.[133]
114. Although the services of UKTI are welcomed
and appreciated by businesses, there remains the concern that
UKTI still focuses more on processes than outcomes. Businesses
want to be able to assess before embarking on working with the
UKTI, clear evidence that it will benefit their bottom line. A
more entrepreneurial culture within UKTI should help improve this
mindset, but the challenge remains for UKTI to continue to demonstrate
its real value to UK businesses.
PROVIDERS OF TRADE SERVICES
115. Susan Haird, the Acting Chief Executive of UKTI,
explained that its trade services were contracted out to Business
Link and Chambers of Commerce. This has previously been done on
a regional basis on Regional Development Agency lines, often with
the trade advisers based within the local RDA offices.[134]
This area of UKTI's operations is currently experiencing significant
upheaval.
116. The Secretary of State, when he introduced the
Trade White Paper to the House on 9 February 2011, said:
As many people on this side of the House who
have run small businesses will know, the problem with Business
Link was that it was a very ineffective system of business support.
It has now been replaced, and in future small businesses will
have access, through mentoring, to other business people, rather
than to those who serviced Business Link, which was not a successful
scheme.[135]
In March 2011, the Government announced in a Ministerial
Statement that the regional Business Link advisory service was
to close by November.[136]
117. The CBI appeared unimpressed with the decision
and asserted that it would result in "a considerable lack
of clarity about how SMEs will access trade support services going
forward".[137]
This view was echoed by the FSB whose Chief Executive Andrew Cave
told us:
At the moment there is a certain unknown as to
what is going to happen with RDAs and Business Link being removed
from that space, and how LEPs can possibly take that forward.
We're very concerned about that.[138]
118. Business Link is still considered by many
to be the major deliverer of UKTI trade advice services despite
the fact that it is being closed by the Government and as yet
to be replaced. It is unclear who will be providing trade advice
services in the regions following the winding up of Business Links.
This is not an acceptable situation and clarity on how these services
will be provided, advertised and supported is urgently required
from Government.
TRADESHOW ACCESS PROGRAMME
119. UKTI's Tradeshow Action Programme (TAP) helps
new to export and new to market companies to participate in trade
fairs. TAP supports UK SMEs to exhibit at overseas trade fairs,
funds promotional activity to enhance UK exhibitor groups at those
events and can provide assistance for businesses who buy speaker
time at international conferences to promote their goods or services.[139]
The UKTI highlights on its website that an international trade
fair is valuable not simply for the immediate sales potential,
which may not be the main reason for participating but that businesses
can showcase new products, undertake market research and benchmark
themselves against the competition, seek out possible agents and
distributors.[140]
The grants currently available are of £1,000, £1,400
or £1,800. UKTI says that the level is set for each show
after discussion with the Accredited Trade Organisation (ATO)
responsible for recruiting for the event. Generally, higher grant
levels will apply to selected shows outside Europe.[141]
120. Throughout our inquiry our witnesses from business
highlighted the importance of trade shows in developing exports.
Simon Carter, a men's clothing and accessories designer, gave
the following assessment of their worth:
It is my belief that the most effective use of
government resources is to support viable, focussed, small to
medium companies through subsidised trade fairs. It is the best
way to showcase product, and meet both customers and prospective
business partners. It is also vital to have continuity with such
a programme. One criticism often levied in the past is that there
is no certainty as to the subsidy for a certain trade fair and
the policy seems to be at the whim of politics. It takes time
to establish a market. Limiting subsidies to two or three showing
is never enough.[142]
Speaking from personal experience he argued that
there was "absolutely no doubt" that his business "would
not be in the position of strength that is now without the British
Fashion Fair".[143]
121. The Engineering and Machinery Alliance (EAMA)
argued that Trade Shows were "absolutely central to exporting
in our sector, a factor amplified by globalisation which is tending
to promote global 'super-shows'',[144]
and added that the shows should be better targeted by UKTI in
order to challenge countries like Germany, France and Italy:
122. These governments are investing heavily in support
at trade shows and on missions. Their ambassadors attend the shows
and extol the strengths of their countries' manufacturing capabilities.
In short they sell themselves very well.[145]
This was confirmed by the British Chambers of Commerce who told
us that this was an area in which we spend 'considerably less'
than our foreign competitors and that it formed a bigger part
of the budgets of export promotion agencies in many other countries.[146]
123. EAMA told us that the UKTI's budget for the
Trade Show Action Programme had been cut.[147]
The cut is due to the reduction of the UKTI Programme Vote by
17%. The Secretary of State said that the answer was "more
selectivity, choosing beneficiaries who can make best use of the
grants." He also reminded the Committee that it had been
cut very severely in the past: "I think that in the 2004
spending review it was cut by half. There was a feeling even then
that the money was not always best used. The thinking now is that
it could be better used".[148]
He continued:
Analysis has been done based on the feedback
we get from the embassies, who are the people who see these exhibitions
on the ground, together with feedback from the trade sector bodies,
not all of whom are happy because there is some reduction involved.
Through consultation with them and our own people on the ground,
an attempt is being made to make evidence-based judgments.[149]
Interestingly, the UKTI strategy states that the
Trade Show Action Programme will be 'improved' and delivered in
partnership with Trade Associations from Spring 2012. The Strategy
outlines that there will be an 'enhanced package of support for
SMEs in innovative and high growth sectors.'[150]
We await detail on this.
124. We have heard from a variety of industries
the importance of Trade Shows and therefore the invaluable services
of the UKTI's Trade Show Access Programme. A more selective approach
to supporting Trade Shows may be both beneficial and more efficient
but we recommend that funding from the programme is reviewed before
it is cut. We also look forward to detail from UKTI on how the
Trade Show Access Programme will be enhanced in 2012 with potentially
less funding.
NEW SERVICES
125. Several new services have been announced as
part of the Trade White Paper, Growth Review and most coherently
in the latest UKTI strategy. These are summarised as:
- mentoring by senior business
specialists for companies taking their first steps into new markets
through Catalyst UK from autumn 2011;[151]
- an online peer-to-peer self help community network
for UK exporters which will pilot from late 2011 and roll out
in 2012;[152]
- a new business service for SMEs in the defence
and security sector. This will include specialist tailored advice
on selling to foreign governments and includes an interactive
web presence;[153]and
- a new prize for a successful first time exporter,
to encourage companies ready to export to take the next step.
This will complement the Queen's Award for Enterprise (International
Trade), which is focused on firms who have exported successfully
for at least 3 years. The new prize will reward the most promising
new export idea from a British SME ready to trade internationally
for the first time, using a panel of "dragons".[154]
126. We questioned the Acting Chief Executive of
UKTI on how these could benefit SMEs in particular the reason
for introducing a new prize. She responded:
I think prizes are motivating: they generate
a lot of interest, they generate a buzz and they generate publicity.
[...] I believe they do drive new customers to us.[155]
With regard to the peer-to-peer online network she
told us it would:
Enable them to share their experiences of exporting
and comment on how to do things in particular markets.[156]
127. We welcome the new services proposed in the
White Paper, but there is little detail on how these services
will be delivered, or what they will provide. First, it is unclear
how the peer-to-peer advice website will help prospective exporters
and how experienced exporters will be encouraged to provide advice.
Second, there is as yet no explanation of the business mentoring
scheme, or how it will be provided by Catalyst. The Department
needs to set out clearly, the role of mentors, the number of companies
each mentor will be working with, on average, and the outcomes
on which they will be judged.
Other Trade Service Providers
128. UKTI support for businesses, and in particular
SMEs, should not be seen in isolation. Chambers of Commerce and
Trade Associations also have an important role to play advising
their members on the benefits of exporting and offering appropriate
advice and support.
129. We have already noted that the current picture
on business support is blurred, particularly given the abolition
of the RDAs and the situation was neatly summarised by Stephen
Perry, who submitted written evidence:
The core of the problem is that different aspects
of the operations are housed in different silos. Private sector
Trade Associations, some receiving funding, most not, compete
with Chambers - some getting funding , some not, who are competing
with UKTI and China Britain Business Council (CBBC), working largely
from government funds. Then there is the CBI, the Institute of
Directors and other similar bodies.
Compare this to the simpler forms of Germany's
Chamber based approach, or Hong Kong's HKTDI, and we can see that
we need to simplify this.
For our businesses, Trade Promotion and services
are offered by a myriad of organisations, who often compete with
each other.
The unifying of organisations like CBBC and UKTI
and the Chambers and Trade Associations within one structure,
would lead to economies, and provide a better environment for
drawing in private sector specialists to lead the regional and
sector divisions. CBBC, whilst separate from UKTI, is still led
by the staff and not by China specialists.[157]
We discuss the China-Britain Business Council in
our report on China.
130. This lack of a 'joined-up' approach in trade
promotion was also raised by the British Chambers of Commerce
who told us:
More work still needs to be done on linking up
Government-provided services such as UKTI, and the work of other
organisations working in the field of export promotion and support.
The Government therefore needs to develop one stop shops for trade
promotion and investment by pursuing the integration of business
support agencies such as Business Link, UKTI, and Enterprise Europe
Network. It must also take into account the trade promotion and
support work undertaken by Chambers of Commerce and other private
sector bodies such as trade associations. Many of their services
are complementary and are more accessible to business if can be
found in one place (whether physically or electronically).[158]
Andrew Cave from the FSB argued that the number of
networks need not be a problem, as long as there was a consistency
of message. He raised the point that most of the FSB members looked
to the banks for advice and support with exporting. So he suggested
that the UKTI should target information through the banks.[159]
131. Phil Orford from FPB admitted when asked how
his organisation interacted with the UKTI and encouraged SMEs
to export that:
I think first of all, being honest, we've probably
not engaged as much as we could or should have done and indeed
the amount we will be doing in the future. [...]it's fair to say
we could have done more and we will be doing more to support export
trade as part of the overall growth strategy for the UK.[160]
Andrew Cave from FSB was equally honest and told
us:
We were quite surprised by our latest survey
data that revealed so many of our members were engaged in exporting.
That wasn't the case years ago when we undertook similar research.
So it's an area that we as an organisation need to step up to,
I think, and work much more closely with UKTI.[161]
132. This inconsistency of message and gap in communication
and signposting has been recognised by the UKTI. Its new strategy
states that:
We will leverage the communication channels of
business partners such as the British Chambers of Commerce, the
Confederation of British Industry, the Institute of Directors,
Trade Associations, business schools and Local Enterprise Partnerships,
to reach the high growth and innovative companies with the potential
to benefit by exporting. We will also develop outreach partnerships
with the UK's major commercial banks and with the accountancy
and legal professions. And we will plug into the business networks
of communities with overseas connections and activities.[162]
133. We believe that British Chambers of Commerce
and trade associations can play a larger role in promoting the
importance of exports to SMEs. We were concerned by the lack of
active engagement between business organisations and their members
on the issue of exporting. This situation has to improve. The
provision of export support should not solely be the responsibility
of the UKTI and the Government. We recommend that the Government
and UKTI work with the Chambers of Commerce, trade associations
and banks to project a clear message on exporting with clear signposting
on where to go for help, advice and financing.
Large Companies
134. UKTI has rightly placed great emphasis on supporting
UK SMEs wishing to export. However, the CBI argued that this should
not be at the expense of support for larger companies. It believed
that UKTI needed to expand "beyond its core SME customer
base, and reach out to mid-cap and larger companies".[163]
Those companies did not need what the CBI described as the "classic
UKTI offerings"; rather they would benefit from up-to-the-minute
and informed economic and political intelligence.[164]
In order to deliver this, the CBI argued for "excellent communication
between UKTI and 'pure' Foreign Office staff on the ground".[165]
It also believed that UKTI should "move to a more account
management style of interaction with its largest client companies".[166]
135. Lord Green addressed some of these concerns
at the time of the publication of the Trade White Paper:
We will have individual ministers held accountable
for particular relationships, as it were assigned to overseas
relationships with particular big exporters on a name by name
basis.[167]
The Trade White Paper stated that the Government
needed to "Strengthen relationships with major exporters,
overseas buyers and investors. There will be greater focus in
future on relationship management with key exporters and investors.
The whole of government approach will ensure that traders' voices
are better heard within Government and that problems can be solved
sooner".[168]
136. However, we were also told that too great a
focus on particular large companies ran the risk of distorting
trade. Dr Sally from the LSE said:
Do we really want Prime Ministers, the Duke of
York and others going around the world batting for particular
companies when some companies clearly have more influence on public
policy than others? Who are they representing? Are they representing
an individual company's interest or the national interest? It
is very easy in these circumstances to conflate the interest of
one particular company with the national interest.[169]
137. On the other hand, citing the example of Germany,
Andy Scott from the CBI told us that active support of larger
companies brought with it an additional potential benefit to SMEs:
I think the key route through which many SMEs
do gain market access is thorough those [larger company] supply
chains.[170]
This argument was also put forward by British Business
Ambassador Paul Skinner:
I think there is a role for our leading global
corporations, hosted in the UK, to play a supportive role towards
small and medium-sized enterprises, who are trying to get more
involved in overseas markets. The larger companies are perhaps
going to have a better understanding of the ways those markets
work, and they will probably be operating supply chains from which
smaller UK-based companies can benefit.[171]
138. Susan Haird, Acting Chief Executive of UKTI,
reminded us that large UK companies investing abroad generated
benefits for the UK economy: "either [a company] adds to
the stock of wealth of the country and/or profits and dividends
are repatriated back to the United Kingdom".[172]
139. The UKTI strategy launched the High Value Opportunities
scheme. The Strategy stated that the UKTI aims to:
Help bring high value opportunities home through
a programme of intensive support for larger companies seeking
to win overseas contracts ranging from £250 million upwards
- the market for very large scale, high value projects, which
also bring major supply chain opportunities for SMEs, runs into
trillions of pounds and covers a wide range of sectors.[173]
140. The strategy gives the examples of the development
of transport networks in several high growth and emerging markets,
in the USA and the Gulf; the building of new cities in Saudi Arabia
and low cost housing in South Africa; energy projects in China;
and the Navi-Mumbai airport development in India.[174]
The UKTI said it has developed a clear methodology to evaluate
opportunities in terms of potential monetary value, UK capability,
accessibility and competitive position. It is hoped that this
would enable UKTI to prioritise effectively and target its resources
to where the greatest impact and value to UK companies and supply
chains can be achieved. The strategy declared that UKTI would
focus on around fifty high value opportunities at any one time
and it had formed new teams to pursue those opportunities, with
expertise from the UKTI, the wider overseas diplomatic network
as well as private sector business specialists. It also made clear
that the consortia:
Have an important role to play in pulling through
SMEs as part of their supply chains.[175]
141. We welcome the Department's commitment to
refine UKTI's relationship with larger companies and the development
of a more business-orientated account-management style through
the High Value Opportunities scheme. Those companies have the
potential to help SMEs in their supply chain to also benefit from
exports by introducing them to overseas markets, though we note
that this relationship is a complex one. UKTI can play an important
role in providing incentives to larger companies to take their
supply chain with them, and we recommend that the Government consider
how companies receiving UKTI support through the scheme be encouraged
to help 'pull through' their SME supply chains.
Emerging Markets
142. Both the Trade White Paper and the Plan for
Growth highlighted the importance of emerging markets to UK
exporters. The Plan for Growth stated that:
Faster growing emerging and developing economies
contribute around $11.5 trillion, creating great opportunities
for UK businesses. This provides an opportunity for strong export
growth, as was evidenced by the 40 per cent growth in UK goods
exports to China in 2010, with car exports to China trebling to
around £1.5 billion. The Government is determined to get
behind British business and provide the support they need to take
advantage of these trade and investment opportunities.[176]
143. The Trade White Paper also made particular reference
to the emerging markets, arguing that UKTI was already well-placed
to assist UK companies in these countries:
Some 40% of UKTI's overseas resource is in seventeen
of these markets, with one in seven of its overseas staff based
in China and India. UKTI also supports a number of formal Ministerial
bilateral economic and trade dialogues (JETCOs) with key emerging
and high growth markets, such as Brazil, China, India, Russia,
Turkey and the UAE. These aim to strengthen economic, industrial
and commercial ties between the UK and these markets and also
look at barriers to trade between these countries. Business from
both countries is closely involved.[177]
144. A|D|S called for the strengthening of political
and economic relationships with emerging markets and believed
that there was scope for the government to provide more information
about the business opportunities in emerging markets. A|D|S had
created "Ambassadors' Packs" to help inform the diplomatic
community about the strengths of the sectors it represents.
145. UKTI said it used a range of criteria—including
market size and potential for growth, strategic importance and
match to UK capability—to assess the importance of individual
markets and the likelihood of UKTI helping British business interests:
In this way we can determine which high growth
and emerging markets to prioritise in order to deploy our resources
to best effect.[178]
146. The UKTI strategy provides detail on the Government's
support of emerging economies. It specifies that the UKTI will
be targeting the following priority markets for the next five
years: Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Mexico, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa,
South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE and Vietnam. It said
it would also target Hong Kong, both as a market in its own right
and as a springboard into the mainland China market.[179]
147. The UKTI strategy states that the UKTI will
increase the proportion of its overseas resources in high growth
and emerging markets and will move more resources there over the
lifetime of the strategy, 'to match both the opportunities and
the demands from our customers.'[180]
148. However, even though the emerging markets of
the BRIC have much higher growth rates than those of the developed
markets, Adam Marshall, representing the British Chambers of Commerce,
highlighted that :
Very large numbers of first time exporters will
want to go somewhere familiar, and that means generally Europe
or North America, because they're seen as the easiest markets,
in many cases, to start out in.[181]
Institute of Directors research also found that:
When we asked our members, of those that export,
which areas they see the growth coming from in terms of their
export activity, it was quite interesting that the majority of
our membership felt that the European Union was the area over
the next five years where they'd see the greatest growth. Now,
I think that's quite a surprising finding, and I think in some
ways it means that it is necessary for the White Paper to address
a dual-track approach here, between its focus on the emerging
economies but also upon rather more traditional economies, with
whom our members still believe there's still a great deal of growth
to be had.[182]
149. The FPB research had a similar result but it
also disentangled reasons why businesses tended to focus on the
EU:
Obviously proximity is one of the reasons, but
interestingly the common currency is another, rather than multi-currencies,
and the similarity of regulatory systems. We may not think that
we've got similarities with the rest of Europe, but we have bigger
differences with the rest of the world.[183]
The importance of developed markets was also brought
to our attention by UK music but for the reason of intellectual
property (IP) rights:
UK Music recognises that there is a strategy
to prioritise emerging markets [...]. However this will not deliver
export growth in our sector. Our industry, which is made up of
mainly micro and small businesses, has asked that in a climate
of limited resources that UKTI focus on established markets where
firms can guarantee returns. In emerging markets, we would urge
Government to support the development of strong IP frameworks.
This will provide the base from which music exports can subsequently
develop.[184]
150. While UKTI is rightly focussing its attention
on the emerging markets, it also acknowledged the importance of
existing markets to SMEs:
Successful companies of all sizes know the importance
of nurturing the markets where they have already achieved results.
In 2009, more than 70 per cent (£277 billion) of the UK's
total exports went to the European Union, North America, Japan
and Australasia, and these markets generated 77 per cent of our
new investment projects. So we will continue to maintain a proportionate
presence in these and other developed markets.[185]
151. The Secretary of State, however, reinforced
the importance of emerging markets to us and UKTI's role:
British export and investment performance is
impressive at the moment; rapid growth is taking place. Of course,
that is due overwhelmingly to the activities of the companies
involved, but it is also due to the support they are receiving
from officials and support staff of UKTI and to some degree, arguably,
from political leadership as well.[186]
152. The Government is right to concentrate on
emerging markets but it needs to strike an appropriate balance
between new and existing markets. Many SMEs look to start exporting
to the EU and the USA as they are perceived to be both easier
and safer. The confidence which comes from exporting to existing
markets should not be underestimated and UKTI should be mindful
of this when it develops its market strategies.
153. The additional support necessary of SMEs
to enter the emerging markets has been recognised by Government
and it has increased UKTI staff in both China and India. There
remains, however, a gap between UKTI support for SMEs overseas
and its capacity in the UK to highlight the opportunities and
advantages of exporting to those markets. Budget constraints mean
that it will be difficult for UKTI to do both. In the UK, UKTI
should demonstrate to us how it will be utilising local partners,
including Chambers of Commerce, trade associations and local banks
to provide domestic support to SMEs.
SECTOR SUPPORT
154. In the previous Parliament, UKTI was tasked
with specific support for the following sectors: financial services
and the City, information and communication technologies (ICT),
life sciences, creative industries, and energy.[187]
155. The Department highlighted a number of areas
in which the Government was keen to enhance UKTI support:
Promoting UK companies and institutions that
provide environmental solutions and technologies in response to
climate change, with green export campaigns in the markets where
research has identified the greatest potential, will be at the
heart of UKTI's sector focus.[188]
The White Paper went on to list other sectors such
as "ICT, life sciences, financial and professional services,
creative industries and defence and security, advanced engineering
and low carbon technologies; companies that are innovative and
R&D intensive", which also had a high potential to benefit
from doing business overseas.[189]
156. The UKTI strategy announced the sectors which
will be focused on by the UKTI over the next five years. There
are 18 priority sectors which fall into five groupings outlined
in the table below:
Table Source: UK Trade & Investment, Britain
open for business, May 2011, p 45
157. The strategy says that the UKTI's chosen sectors
will be overseen by small number of new Sector Group Task Forces,
with membership recruited from major UK-based businesses. In addition
to this there will be Sector Advisory Groups consisting of approximately
200 business figures, which will "provide detailed business
input, validation and challenge to UKTI's activities in respect
of their individual industries".[190]
158. We believe it is right for UKTI to have a
sectoral focus which will concentrate its efforts on those areas
where the UK has a competitive advantage We note the Department's
plans to establish Sector Group Task Forces and Sector Advisory
Groups staffed by the private sector. As we highlight earlier
in this Report, the Department will need to demonstrate how it
will attract suitably qualified personnel from the private sector
at a time when UKTI's funding is being reduced.
115 Q 379 Back
116
Ev 132 Back
117
Ev 146 Back
118
Q 95 Back
119
Q 95 Back
120
Ev 147 Back
121
Ev 147 Back
122
Ev 147 Back
123
Ev 179 Back
124
Ev 184 Back
125
Ev 147 Back
126
Ev 147 Back
127
Ev 147 Back
128
Ev 147 Back
129
Q 103 Back
130
Q 103 Back
131
Q 94 Back
132
Q 103 Back
133
Ev 160 Back
134
Q 507 Back
135
HC Deb, 9 February 2011, col 339 Back
136
HC Deb, 23 March 2011, col 1114w Back
137
Ev 165 Back
138
Q 107 Back
139
UKTI Website, Tradeshow Access Programme: www.ukti.gov.uk/pt_pt/export/howwehelp/item/108969.html Back
140
UKTI Website, Tradeshow Access Programme, Frequently asked Questions:
www.ukti.gov.uk/pt_pt/export/howwehelp/item/108969.html Back
141
UKTI Website, Tradeshow Access Programme, Frequently asked Questions:
www.ukti.gov.uk/pt_pt/export/howwehelp/item/108969.html Back
142
Ev 203 Back
143
Ev 203 Back
144
Ev 174 Back
145
Ev 176 Back
146
Q 10 Back
147
Ev 176 Back
148
Oral Evidence taken before the Business, Innovation and Skills
Committee, HC (2010-12) 945-i, Q 17 Back
149
Oral Evidence taken before the Business, Innovation and Skills
Committee, HC (2010-12) 945-i, Q 18 Back
150
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011, p 44 Back
151
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011, Appendix C What's new? Back
152
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011, Appendix C What's new? Back
153
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011, Appendix C What's new? Back
154
Q 381 Back
155
Q 381 Back
156
Q 382 Back
157
Ev w55 Back
158
Ev 160 Back
159
Q 107 Back
160
Q 110 Back
161
Q 110 Back
162
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011, p 14 Back
163
Ev 167 Back
164
Ev 167 Back
165
Ev 167 Back
166
Ev 167 Back
167
"Government ministers copy bankers to boost UK trade",
The Daily Telegraph, 10 February 2011 Back
168
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Trade and Investment
for Growth, Cm 8015, February 2011 para 3.40 Back
169
Q 358 Back
170
Q 100 Back
171
Q 144 Back
172
Q 379 Back
173
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011, p 4 Back
174
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011, p 21 Back
175
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011, p 21 Back
176
HM Treasury and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills,
The Plan for Growth, March 2011, p 30 Back
177
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Trade and Investment
for Growth, Cm8015, February 2011 para 3.39 Back
178
Ev 143 Back
179
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011, p 35 Back
180
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011 p 36 Back
181
Q 14 Back
182
Q 129 Back
183
Q 132 Back
184
Ev 202 Back
185
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011, p 37 Back
186
Oral Evidence taken before the Business, Innovation and Skills
Committee, HC (2010-12) 945-i, Q 38 Back
187
UK Trade & Investment, Prosperity in a Changing World,
2006-11 Back
188
Ev 143 Back
189
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Trade and Investment
for Growth, Cm 8015, February 2011, para 3.39 Back
190
UK Trade & Investment, Britain open for business, May
2011, p 43 Back
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