§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department' s Business Advice Service. [99212]
§ Mr. MorleyMy Department currently operates a Business Advice Service for exporters in our sectors, in close liaison with British Trade International. This service is run directly by my Department through its International Relations and Export Promotion Division for agriculture and fisheries goods and services, while for processed food and drink it is entrusted to a non-Departmental Public Body, Food From Britain.
183WBoth operations were recently subjected to separate external reviews of their efficiency and effectiveness. I am happy to say that in both cases over three-quarters of the business users surveyed expressed complete satisfaction with the service, and well over half the users surveyed confirmed that their export performance has already improved as a result.