§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice and assistance his Department(a) gives and (b) has given during the last 262W three years to the Institute of Export; how many Foreign Office employees have been seconded to the Institute of Export in each of the last three years; for what purposes; and at what cost to public funds. [4770]
§ Mr. MacShaneMy Department—through British Trade International (BTI)—maintains close links with the Institute of Export and supports the Institute's work to promote the importance of exporting and to improve the performance of British exporters. In the last three years BTI and the Institute of Export (IOE) have worked together on the development of the regional delivery of BTI services, the design of a self-diagnostic test for potential exporters and the development of a training package for BTI staff.
In the last three years the FCO seconded two members of staff to the IOE, each for a period of approximately 18 months. These placements were managed by British Trade International as part of its remit to increase private sector expertise among its FCO and DTI staff. In previous years similar secondments were also undertaken by DTI staff. Staff remained on the payroll of their parent department. Any other costs associated with undertaking these assignments were met by the IOE.