HC Deb 25 March 2002 vol 382 c692W
Andrew Selous

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what public funding Trade Partners UK has had in each year since 1981 in(a) actual and (b) real terms. [45008]

Nigel Griffiths

Trade Partners UK was launched in May 2000 and is the trade promotion and development arm of British Trade International. Programme funding of the Government's trade promotion and development activities from 1999, the year British Trade International was established, is as follows:

£ million
1999–2000 outturn 56.6
2000–01 outturn 70.5
2001–02 budget 68.0

I have placed in the Libraries of the House a more detailed breakdown of current Government support for trade development and promotion, in the expenditure plans reports of British Trade International (Cm 5123), the Department of Trade and Industry (Cm 5112), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Cm 5110) and British Trade International's resource accounts for 2000–01 (HC 526).

I have placed in the Libraries of the House information about Government support for trade development and promotion in earlier years, in the expenditure plans reports of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Adam Price

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date Trade Partners UK received a request for advice on the attempted acquisition of Sidex by LNM/Ispat; and on what date it replied. [44473]

Ms Hewitt

In accordance with previous Administrations, it is not our practice to disclose internal advice to Ministers which is exempt under Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.