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  • PRESS RELEASE : UK announces second Global Investment Summit to create jobs in high tech sectors [February 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : UK announces second Global Investment Summit to create jobs in high tech sectors [February 2023]

    The press release issued by the Department for International Trade on 10 February 2023.

    The Prime Minister announces the UK’s second Global Investment Summit in October 2023 during a meeting of the Investment Council.

    • PM announces UK’s second Global Investment Summit to take place in October.
    • Summit will bring 200+ CEOs of multinational companies and investment corporations to showcase the UK as a world-leading investment destination.
    • Latest figures show UK Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock reached £2 trillion in 2021, creating tens of thousands of high-value jobs across the UK.

    Over 200 of the world’s highest profile investors, CEOs and financiers are expected to come to the UK in October for a second Global Investment Summit (GIS 23) – the Government announces today (Friday 10 February).

    GIS 23 will aim to raise billions of pounds of high value investment to create thousands of jobs across the UK, with a special focus on high tech sectors such as innovation, research and development.

    The event will build on the success of the inaugural Global Investment Summit in October 2021, that brought together over 170 CEOs to showcase the UK’s commitment to green investment ahead of COP26.

    The 2021 Summit secured £9.7 billion of new foreign investment on the day, creating over 30,000 new jobs and supporting growth in vital sectors such as wind and hydrogen energy, sustainable homes, and carbon capture and storage.

    Leading the Summit is the newly formed Department for Business and Trade, created by the Prime Minister to support UK businesses to invest, grow and export around the world and to create jobs and prosperity across the UK.

    The Prime Minister will confirm the UK is hosting a second Summit during a meeting of the Investment Council on Friday, where he will address global investors to set out his priorities for creating jobs and growing the economy.

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

    “This week we drove serious change from the heart of government by creating four new departments. This was done to deliver on the promises and priorities of the British people, and to go further and faster on our ambition to drive jobs and growth in every part of the UK and ensure we are at the cutting edge of technology and innovation.

    “The next Global Investment Summit is an opportunity to demonstrate what we can do as a nation, delivering on our ambition to be the a world-leading destination for international finance and investment.”

    Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said:

    “Investment creates high quality jobs and grows our economy.

    “I started the year setting a goal of the UK becoming the undisputed number one investment destination in Europe. Events like this will help deliver this and show the world’s biggest investors just what a strong investment prospect the UK can offer.

    “Overseas investment has already led to 85,000 new jobs in 2021/22 alone, and I want to us to go further, driving growth and putting more money in the pockets of hardworking Brits.

    This year’s event will showcase emerging UK success stories in life sciences, deep tech, nuclear fusion and small modular reactions (SMRs), and manufacturing, with capital investment driven by the post-EU Exit financial liberalisation encapsulated in the Edinburgh reforms.

    Minister for Investment Dominic Johnson said:

    “The UK remains open for business. I greatly look forward to welcoming investors at the Global Investment Summit and showcasing how the UK has reached over £2 trillion in inward investment stock.

    “Our low-tax, high-skill economy is unrivalled in offering strong returns, innovative businesses and a rule of law that is emulated around the world.”

    Notes to editors:

    • The UK Investment Council was established and formed under the chairmanship of the Minister for Investment in April 2021 to provide a platform for 42 influential global investors so that they can highlight their perspectives, priorities and concerns relating to UK inward investment and use it as an opportunity to influence Government’s future approach to investment policy.
    • Their high-level expertise and advice help to guide the discussion happening around the table and to inform DIT and wider Government to ensure the UK’s remains one of the leading destinations for foreign investment. The Council also provides an opportunity for HMG to amplify its investment objectives to senior industry leaders.
    • The Council, though separate, operates in collaboration with the Office for Investment and has proven highly effective in gathering investor insights and improving the quality of Departmental stakeholder engagement.
  • Lee Rowley – 2023 Statement on Spending Decisions and Capital Projects

    Lee Rowley – 2023 Statement on Spending Decisions and Capital Projects

    The statement made by Lee Rowley, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    Thank you, Mr Speaker, I am glad we know what question we are being asked. Levelling up is one of the defining missions of this Government. Whether it is moving 22,000 civil servants outside of London by 2030 and backing overlooked town centres and high streets, or devolving power and money away from Whitehall and Westminster, this Government are delivering for the people of this country. There has been significant focus on the mechanics of government in recent days. Even if the question asked today was not that clear at the outset, it is absolutely the case that processes change and may apply at times in different ways.

    We are working within a new delegation approach with the Treasury, which involves Treasury sign-off on capital spend. We will always work closely with the Treasury. We value its focus on value for money; it values and shares our mission to level up the country as a whole, and we will continue to do that. We are making good on our promise to spread opportunity across the country, with £9.6 billion of levelling-up funds announced since 2019, on top of the £7.5 billion commitment to the nine city-based mayoral combined authorities in England. That includes £3.2 billion of funding via the towns and high street funds, £3.8 billion from the levelling-up fund, £2.6 billion from the UK shared prosperity fund and £16.7 million from the community ownership fund.

    There has been no change to the budgets of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether capital or revenue; no change to our policy objectives; no dilution of our ambition; and there are no implications for the Government’s policy agenda. Four years ago, this Government promised the British people a stronger, fairer and more united country. It was a promise embodied in levelling up, and it is a promise we are going to keep.

  • NEWS STORY : Iain Duncan Smith Opposes Visit of Governor of Xinjiang to the UK

    NEWS STORY : Iain Duncan Smith Opposes Visit of Governor of Xinjiang to the UK

    STORY

    Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a Conservative politician and former leader of the party, is part of a cross-party group of MPs who are putting pressure on the UK government to cancel the planned visit of the governor of Xinjiang, Erkin Tuniyaz. The governor has been accused of human rights violations in the region and his visit has been opposed by a number of campaign groups.

    In a letter addressed to the Attorney General, Sir Iain has requested the governor’s arrest if he visits the UK, arguing that the visit would risk becoming a propaganda win for the Chinese government. The UK government has defended their stance on holding talks with the governor, despite the allegations of rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. The visit is expected to occur next week despite numerous MPs speaking against this in the House of Commons.

    Speaking for the Government, the Minister Leo Docherty said in the Commons:

    “China’s actions in Xinjiang are abhorrent and we will not legitimise them in any way. However, robust engagement to challenge human rights violations and to stand up for the rights of the oppressed is at the core of the UK’s diplomatic work around the world. We must be prepared to use diplomatic channels to achieve that end, hence officials would be prepared to offer him a meeting”.

    Duncan Smith replied:

    “I find that response from my hon. Friend, for whom I have the highest respect, to be a very weak turn from the Foreign Office. The Uyghur region in north-west China has been the site of severe human rights violations, crimes against humanity and genocide for more than six years. In 2017, satellite imagery confirmed that a network of internment camps had been set up throughout the region. Throughout this time, Erkin Tuniyaz has been responsible for the murderous and repressive policy, alongside its architect, Chen Quango”.

    RESOURCES

    Iain Duncan Smith’s Speech in the House of Commons

    Minister Leo Docherty’s Speech in the House of Commons

    Brendan O’Hara’s Speech in the House of Commons

    Catherine West’s Speech in the House of Commons

    Alicia Kearn’s Speech in the House of Commons

    EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

    Guardian News Story

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

    Brendan O’Hara – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

    The speech made by Brendan O’Hara, the SNP MP for Argyll and Bute, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    The right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) is absolutely right that the Government have handed a propaganda gift to Beijing.

    In 2020, the Uyghur tribunal found that, beyond any reasonable doubt, China is responsible for crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide, yet today we find that someone at the heart of those crimes is coming to the UK next week—a man accused by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China of playing a central role in the persecution of the Uyghurs.

    As we have heard, the Government’s position on China has been appallingly weak and goes no further than to urge the Chinese authorities to change their approach. Given that, hitherto, they have failed to move Beijing one iota in its treatment of the Uyghur people, why does the Minister believe that allowing this man to come to the United Kingdom and to meet FCDO officials will suddenly change things? Will it not be exactly the same message that they have given before, and will the Chinese not treat it with exactly the same contempt? Given that that is what will happen, why does the Minister honestly believe that meeting this man will make the slightest difference to Beijing’s approach?

    Leo Docherty

    The hon. Gentleman is questioning the utility of this kind of diplomacy, and it is a reasonable question, but our judgment, institutionally, is that opportunities to send strong messages to these sorts of individuals are useful and will be taken heed of by the state apparatus. I think the expectation of officials was that an invitation should be extended to Uyghur human rights groups in the UK to enable them to engage with this individual directly and send that strong message. I think that was at the core of the judgment that was made.

    Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)

    Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for making it absolutely clear that this man is not getting in here, even if the Minister is going to give him space in the office. But I ask you this, Sir: is not the very fact that an announcement of his intention to travel has been made—in the language habitual to the Government of China—“a provocation”?

    Mr Speaker

    That is more for the Minister to answer, even though I am tempted.

    Leo Docherty

    I think this is an opportunity to send a robust message from our side about everything we judge completely outrageous and unacceptable in Xinjiang. We therefore judge that there is utility in the prospect of officials meeting this individual.

    John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)

    Is this the best we can do? This country used to have a tradition—on both sides of the House, in both major parties—of standing up to tyrants, butchers, fascists and great persecutors. That seems to have been abandoned. Is not the only conclusion to be drawn in Beijing from the actions of this Government that we will do nothing to stand up to them?

    Leo Docherty

    We have stood up to China when it comes to Xinjiang. We have sanctioned individuals, and we continue to make the strongest possible representations. That is in line with our policy of robust pragmatism. We will be robust, but we will also engage and send a strong message when opportunities arise.

  • Alicia Kearns – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

    Alicia Kearns – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

    The speech made by Alicia Kearns, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) on securing this urgent question but, Minister, I am afraid this is simply not good enough.

    In Xinjiang, women are being forcibly sterilised and children are in concentration camps. There are forced labour camps and systematic rape, yet the Minister has just confirmed from the Dispatch Box that Ministers approved of this visit by one of the masterminds of this genocide. Worse, a Cabinet Office Minister claimed this week that the complicity of Chinese state-run companies, such as Hikvision, in Xinjiang is “contested.” Exactly what position are this Government taking? There is no legitimate reason to allow this man, Erkin Tuniyaz, into our country. The only meetings with him should be in a courtroom.

    Will the Government now sanction Erkin Tuniyaz, as well as Chen Quanguo, the butcher of Xinjiang? We have to refuse to meet them. Like-minded EU countries have already announced that they will not meet this man when he comes to Brussels. We should not only refuse to meet him, as our like-minded friends have, but we should deny him a visa.

    Will we now introduce a sanctions regime specifically for Tibet, where we are seeing the exact same thing? Millions of children have been kidnapped from their parents and put into concentration camps so that they can be assimilated and so that genocide can be committed against their culture. This is wrong. I am sorry, but the Government have to get a grip on China issues. We let Chinese officials flee this country, having given them a week’s notice, and now we are inviting them into the halls of Westminster. It is not good enough. We have to get a grip.

    Mr Speaker

    I do not think they will be coming to Westminster, as we would have to give permission. Let us not open that debate.

    Leo Docherty

    Thank you, Mr Speaker.

    I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Alicia Kearns) for her long-standing interest. She rightly mentions the suffering of women and children, specifically in Xinjiang, which has moved us all. Our judgment is that Erkin Tuniyaz is not travelling because of an invitation from the Foreign Office. Given that our expectation is that he is travelling on a diplomatic passport and will be here, because he is not sanctioned—

    Sir Iain Duncan Smith

    Yes—he is not sanctioned. Why is he not sanctioned?

    Leo Docherty

    Because he is not sanctioned, we therefore judge that this is a useful opportunity to deliver an extremely strong message to this individual. Of course, colleagues will note that there is a differential approach with regard to the US sanctions regime.

    Mr Speaker

    Order. I am in the Chair. Members are meant to speak through the Chair, not face towards the back of the Chamber.

    Leo Docherty

    The judgment of Ministers is that such opportunities are useful in offering a chance to express a very forthright condemnation of the outrages in Xinjiang. I think this reflects the Government’s policy of robust pragmatism when it comes to China, which is at the heart of our wanting to continue such dialogue.

  • Catherine West – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

    Catherine West – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

    The speech made by Catherine West, the Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    I thank the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for bringing this urgent question to the House. The issue of Xinjiang has been debated in both Chambers of this Parliament, and following a Back-Bench motion, Members of this House voted that genocide had occurred in this area of China.

    In September last year, the UN high commissioner for human rights said that the treatment of the Uyghurs may constitute crimes against humanity, and this House has made clear its view that the treatment of the Uyghurs amounts to genocide. It is therefore deeply worrying to learn of the planned visit to the UK of the governor of the very province in which these outrageous and systemic acts have taken place. Has the Minister made an assessment of the relationship between Chen Quanguo, who is an international pariah, and this particular individual?

    I am acutely aware of, and in principle agree with, the general points that the Minister has made about engagement. However, we have to be very robust with regard to human rights. Is the meeting essential to UK-China relations? I do not think it is. I fear that this planned visit to the UK highlights the serious lack of political leadership at the Foreign Office. The Minister knows the views of this House and should have made it clear that this meeting was ill-judged and inappropriate.

    When were Ministers first made aware of the planned visit, and did it receive personal approval from the Foreign Secretary? What assessment has been made of the moral injury that this would cause to the Uyghur minority in this country, who have come to the Houses of Parliament to tell us of their suffering? Has this decision been informed by the moral injury that it will cause? Finally, will the invitation to visit the UK now be rescinded? What action will the Foreign Office take as a result of this urgent question?

    Leo Docherty

    I am grateful for the constructive tone and characteristic interest that the hon. Lady shows. Is this meeting essential? We judge that this might be an opportunity to send a very strong message to someone who is involved in the governance of Xinjiang. That is at the heart of the judgment that was made about this opportunity.

    The hon. Lady asked when Ministers were aware. I know that Ministers were aware in the usual, routine way and made a judgment that, on balance, it was useful to endorse the prospect of officials engaging with this individual.

    The hon. Lady makes a good point about the risk of moral injury. It is important to say that, with regard to this specific proposition, FCDO officials were keen to invite Uyghur human rights groups in the UK so that they have an opportunity to express their views to this individual as a means of delivering a very strong message of condemnation. That judgment was at the heart of the decision, but she makes a good point about moral injury.

    The hon. Lady asked whether the invitation will be rescinded and, of course, it is not an invitation. The FCDO did not invite this individual. Our expectation is that he is travelling on a diplomatic passport. I am grateful to have been able to answer these questions, and I am grateful for her constructive spirit.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Business Secretary welcomes record year for services exports [February 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Business Secretary welcomes record year for services exports [February 2023]

    The press release issued by the Department for International Trade on 10 February 2023.

    New figures coincide with Business and Trade Secretary’s visit to Mexico, where she is progressing a modernised UK-Mexico deal and promoting the UK’s accession to CPTPP.

    • New ONS statistics show UK services exports reach record highs of almost £400 billion in 2022
    • The figures coincide with Business and Trade Secretary’s visit to Mexico, where she is progressing a modern, new UK-Mexico deal to boost UK services exports further, and promoting the UK’s accession to CPTPP
    • Badenoch: “This cements the UK’s position as a global services superpower”

    Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has welcomed new figures showing UK services exports reached record highs, adding that they ‘cement the UK’s position as a global services superpower’.

    The trade data released by the Office for National Statistics today (Friday 10th February) shows that UK services exports reached record highs in 2022, totalling £397 billion.

    In current prices, it means an increase of 20% compared to 2021, and up 23% on exports in 2018.

    The UK is the second biggest services exporter in the world – behind only the US, and the services sector contributes around 80% of the UK’s GDP. Today’s results show the UK is contributing to a growing global sector, with service sectors across the world expected to account for 28% of global trade by 2030 – up from 25% in 2019.

    The Business and Trade Secretary welcomed the news on day two of her visit to Mexico, where she is using high level talks with Mexican cabinet counterparts to secure benefits for thousands of UK firms by locking in expansive services provisions as part of a new, modern UK-Mexico trade deal.

    Alongside an upgraded bilateral deal, the Business and Trade Secretary is in Mexico to promote the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Mexico is a member.

    Joining CPTPP will secure enhanced market access, predictability, and transparency for UK service suppliers who exported £30bn worth of services to CPTPP countries in 2021. Modern trade agreements like CPTPP, that set ambitious rules for trade in services between members, are vital for UK companies looking to maximise opportunities to grow their businesses across both sides of the Pacific.

    Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said:

    These new figures are a trade success story and cement the UK’s position as a global services superpower.

    Services are the lifeblood of our economy, employing over 8 in 10 of our workforce. To see services trade reaching these heights is a firm reminder of the resilience of our strong services economy and shows significant progress in our race to export over a trillion pounds of British goods and services a year by 2030.

    I’ll be using my talks with Mexican politicians and UK businesses operating in Mexico to make the case for a revamped UK-Mexico trade deal which will significantly increase export opportunities, and boost jobs around the UK.

    Latest figures show the UK exports over £1bn worth of services to Mexico, a 30% increase in current prices on the previous year. A more modern, forward looking ‘Mexico 2.0’ deal could boost this even further, unlocking export opportunities for SMEs and the UK’s digital and services industries.

    UK businesses who would benefit from modernised services rules between both countries range from British bank HSBC, currently the fifth largest bank in Mexico, to Pearson Education, whose products and services include world-renowned academic qualifications, digital content, assessments and data.

  • Iain Duncan Smith – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

    Iain Duncan Smith – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

    The speech made by Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative MP for Chingford and Woodford Green, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    I find that response from my hon. Friend, for whom I have the highest respect, to be a very weak turn from the Foreign Office. The Uyghur region in north-west China has been the site of severe human rights violations, crimes against humanity and genocide for more than six years. In 2017, satellite imagery confirmed that a network of internment camps had been set up throughout the region. Throughout this time, Erkin Tuniyaz has been responsible for the murderous and repressive policy, alongside its architect, Chen Quango.

    Testimony from camp survivors—who are absolutely appalled to hear that a Foreign Office official will meet this individual—and leaked official Chinese Government documents, satellite images and drone footage indicate that the camps are sites of severe mass arbitrary detention and severe human rights abuses, including systematic sexual violence against women, torture and the forced sterilisation of many women. Reports of cultural and religious oppression, mass digital in-person surveillance, forced labour, mass sterilisations and abortions and a system of mass criminalisation and arbitrary detention are also completely documented.

    The weak response from the Foreign Office hides something. It is not that it has invited him here, but it has made it clear that when he comes, he will be welcome to see officials. Whether or not the Foreign Office is tough, this is a propaganda coup for the Chinese Government. Governor Tuniyaz has defended the use of mass detention centres and doubled down and expanded their use. During his tenure, more than 1 million Uyghurs and other people from predominantly Muslim minorities have been detained in Xinjiang. A man who declares that nothing is going on is hardly likely to be bothered by a Foreign Office official telling him, “Now, now, you’ve got to stop this.”

    I remind my hon. Friend the Minister that in 2021, the House of Commons in this United Kingdom declared for the first time that genocide is taking place against the Uyghurs and other minorities in the Xinjiang region of China. Let us compare our response with that of the United States. The UK has sanctioned only three rather junior people. The US has introduced 107 punitive sanctions, five new laws, 11 specific investment bans and 10 sanctions on individuals, including Chen Quanguo and Erkin Tuniyaz. I call on the UK Government to rescind this invitation and sanction Erkin Tuniyaz and Chen Quanguo for their role in this crime against humanity and genocide. The place to deal with these individuals is in a tribunal or court of law, not in the quiet office of a Foreign Office official.

    Leo Docherty

    I appreciate sincerely the long-standing interest of my right hon. Friend in this issue, and he speaks with great sincerity and power. He draws a comparison with the sanctions regime in the US. The numbers might be different, but that reflects our desire and approach to use these opportunities to deliver a very strong and robust message. It is institutionally the judgment of the FCDO that we are better off not denying ourselves the opportunity to send extremely robust and strong messages of condemnation of the brutality that has been carried out by the Chinese state in Xinjiang. He alluded to that difference of approach, but we are confident in its utility.

    My understanding is that, in advance of the suggestion of this meeting, the invitation was extended to human rights groups in the UK to afford them the opportunity to send a very strong message to this individual about their view of repression in Xinjiang. That was at the heart of what was judged to be useful about the prospect of such a meeting.

  • Leo Docherty – 2023 Statement on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

    Leo Docherty – 2023 Statement on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

    The statement made by Leo Docherty, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    We understand from the Chinese embassy that the governor of Xinjiang may visit the UK next week. To be very clear, he has not been invited by the UK Government or the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and we have no confirmation that he will, in fact, travel. Our expectation is that he will travel on a diplomatic passport, and therefore he has not yet been granted a visa. If he does visit, I assure this House that under no circumstances will he be dignified with a ministerial meeting.

    China’s actions in Xinjiang are abhorrent and we will not legitimise them in any way. However, robust engagement to challenge human rights violations and to stand up for the rights of the oppressed is at the core of the UK’s diplomatic work around the world. We must be prepared to use diplomatic channels to achieve that end, hence officials would be prepared to offer him a meeting. In line with that principle, there is only one reason why such a meeting would take place—to make absolutely clear the UK’s abhorrence of the treatment of the Uyghur people and to say that we will not relent from exposing the horrors to which they are subject. That point needs to be set out clearly to China. It is only right that people responsible for human rights violations are confronted on these issues.

    The UK has played a leading role in international efforts to hold China to account on Xinjiang. In 2019, we became the first country to step up to lead a joint statement on China’s actions in Xinjiang at the UN. Since that first statement, which was supported by 23 countries, we have worked tirelessly through our global diplomatic network to broaden the caucus of countries speaking out. Our leadership has sustained pressure on China to change its behaviour and consistently increase the number of countries speaking out. Most recently, our diplomatic effort helped to secure the support of a record 50 countries for a statement on Xinjiang at the UN third committee in October.

    We have imposed sanctions on four individuals and one entity in Xinjiang, and have introduced robust measures to tackle forced labour in supply chains. We have consistently raised our concerns at the highest level in Beijing. Let me be absolutely clear that we will continue to emphasise at all levels that the world is watching what China’s authorities say and do in Xinjiang. They cannot hide their abuses. The UK and our allies will not turn away.

  • Liz Twist – 2023 Parliamentary Question on the Parliamentary Scrutiny of New Free Trade Agreements

    Liz Twist – 2023 Parliamentary Question on the Parliamentary Scrutiny of New Free Trade Agreements

    The parliamentary question asked by Liz Twist, the Labour MP for Blaydon, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)

    What steps she is taking to support effective parliamentary scrutiny of new free trade agreements.

    The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Nigel Huddleston)

    The Government are committed to transparency and effective scrutiny in our trade agenda, going beyond the statutory framework set out in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. That includes providing extensive information prior to the commencement of talks on free trade agreements, as well as regular updates to Parliament during negotiations. At the end of negotiations, we have committed to additional parliamentary scrutiny time, as well as to publishing further information such as the advice of the independent Trade and Agriculture Commission.

    Liz Twist

    Over the last year, the Government’s former Environment Secretary, the right hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (George Eustice), has labelled the Government free trade agreements a failure, and the Prime Minister has called them one-sided. Is such criticism the reason the Government spend so much time avoiding any real detailed scrutiny of these trade agreements?

    Nigel Huddleston

    I respectfully disagree with the hon. Lady’s characterisation that there is insufficient scrutiny, and I respectfully disagree with my right hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (George Eustice), who made some comments earlier this year. Last time I answered this question, you quite rightly had a go at me, Mr Speaker, because I gave a long list of examples of extensive scrutiny on our free trade agreements. I will spare the House by not repeating it , but I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave previously.