Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 16
16
The Department acknowledged that “agreements are only as good as the businesses that utilise them”.39...
Conclusion
The Department acknowledged that “agreements are only as good as the businesses that utilise them”.39 It told us that its new export strategy, published in November 2021, had been informed by our previous report on support for exporters, and that a particular focus of the new strategy was on supporting small businesses to export.40 For example, it said as a result of our report it was working more closely with UK Export Finance which is focusing more on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the work that it does.41 The Department’s new export strategy includes a 12-point plan to encourage UK exports and it explained to us that the big change that it has made is the introduction of the Export Support Service. The Department said that this service aims to help small UK businesses to trade with the EU, though the Department intends to widen this to the rest of the world in the future. It told us that it had received positive feedback from businesses on its new strategy, including from organisations like the Federation of Small Businesses.42 We asked the Department why it had cut the Tradeshow Access Programme and funding for the British Chamber of Commerce overseas, if it wanted businesses to export more. The Department wrote to us after the evidence session to explain that it has replaced the Tradeshow Access Programme with a new UK Tradeshow Programme which was launched as part of its 2021 export strategy. The new programme continues to support businesses to exhibit at trade shows and it also supports smaller companies to visit tradeshows prior to exhibiting to help them make a choice about whether exhibitions should be part of their export strategy.43
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
3.2 The department will write within 12 months on this recommendation. DIT is already helping businesses take advantage of trade agreements and market openings and is committed to further improving its offer. The department will write to set out how this is being done. 3.3 Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is a key part of the refreshed Export Strategy, including supporting the department’s broader efforts to remove market access barriers. The Export Support Service (ESS) provides cross-government advice and support for exporting to Europe, the Export Academy offers business-led exporting training, and UK Export Finance has expanded its range of lenders, meaning SMEs will be better served in securing new opportunities. The department estimates that of the 7,300 ESS enquiries received by 20 March 2022, 7,000 have been from SMEs. To ensure the connection with departmental initiatives, ESS will expand globally creating an export system to support all businesses. 3.4 Across all regions and devolved administrations, partnerships with external stakeholders will help inform businesses how to utilise FTAs and develop export plans. Supporting SMEs to understand and access the benefits of FTAs is part of the domestic facing 'Made in the UK, Sold to the World' campaign, which shifts attitudes towards exporting. The Department will continue to deliver missions and events, activating a programme to encourage business-to-business collaboration and utilisation of FTA gains. 3.5 As part of this ongoing work DIT has already launched a new project which will consistently and continually evaluate and improve the department’s approach to FTA utilisation. This project will inform the department’s work in response to this recommendation.