§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the benefits provided by Government-selected sponsors to UK firms that receive grants to help co-ordinate trade shows abroad. [174706]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAccredited Trade Organisations (formerly known as Sponsors) add value to Government grants by providing support services to exhibitors before, during and after the event. The performance of each ATO is assessed by customer satisfaction scores, compliance with the terms and conditions of the support scheme and contribution to UK Trade and Investment targets on developing new and new-to-market exporters. All ATOs must maintain a basic level of performance to remain accredited, and future budget allocations to ATOs are linked to performance.
Surveys carried out by the University of Reading estimate that 70 per cent. of companies receiving exhibition grants through ATOs register a sustainable improvement in their business performance.
§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money her Department has paid to small firms for help in co-ordinating trade fairs abroad in each of the last five years; and of that money, how much has then been paid to Government-selected sponsors. [174707]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienFigures for grants to small and medium sized enterprises are available only for 2003–04, when 81 per cent. of company grants were given to firms in that category. The following table extrapolates that percentage to cover earlier years, showing total company grants and (in brackets) grants to SMEs. We do not routinely collect information on the total amounts SMEs pay to Accredited Trade Organisations (formerly known as Sponsors) for the services they provide and this could only be established at disproportionate cost.
£ million Total company grants Grants to SMEs 1999–2000 14.2 (11.5) 2000–01 16.8 (13.6) 2001–02 16.6 (13.4) 2002–03 18.2 (14.7) 2003–04 16 (14.6)
§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the 1569W role of sponsors in helping UK firms co-ordinate trade shows abroad and their cost to (a) UK businesses and (b) UK public funds. [174858]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAccredited Trade Organisations (formerly known as Sponsors) provide a range of services, including assessing companies' suitability for specific events, negotiating deals with exhibition organisers on stand space and construction, promoting the UK group at the event, troubleshooting on exhibitors' behalf and processing grant claims. On the costs of this to UK businesses I refer the hon. Member to the PQ No. 174707 answered today. In 2003–04 UK Trade & Investment gave grants totalling £2 million to Accredited Trade Organisations for organising UK groups at 438 exhibitions.