[Withdrawn] Department for International Trade single departmental plan - December 2017
Updated 27 June 2019
© Crown copyright 2019
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-international-trade-single-departmental-plan/department-for-international-trade-single-departmental-plan
This publication was withdrawn on 23 May 2018
It has been replaced by a new version
Our single departmental plan sets out our objectives and how we will achieve them.
The Department for International Trade enables the UK to trade its way to prosperity, stability and security by helping businesses export, driving inward and outward investment, opening up markets through market access deals and championing free trade.
Trade and investment supports economic development and productivity, providing access to new markets, as well as new processes, technologies and better supplies. This improves people’s living standards as they benefit from greater choice at lower prices. Equally, by driving global prosperity, trade and international investment contribute to global stability and security, as well as increasing the UK’s influence globally and growing wages and living standards domestically.
Our objectives
We will:
- Enable and support firms to seize the opportunities of trade and international investment to establish a culture of exporting in the UK
- Ensure the UK is recognised as the best place to invest and to attract, retain and grow international investment that strengthens the economy
- Open markets, building a trade framework with new and existing partners which is free and fair
- Use trade and investment to underpin the Government’s agenda for a Global Britain and its ambitions for prosperity, stability and security worldwide
1. Enable and support firms to seize the opportunities of trade and international investment to establish a culture of exporting in the UK
Lead ministers:
Baroness Rona Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion
Graham Stuart MP, Minister for Investment
Lead officials:
Until October 2017: Dr Catherine Raines, Director General International Trade and Investment
From Spring 2018: Director General Chief Exports Officer (currently recruiting)
Louis Taylor, Chief Executive, UK Export Finance
1.1 Establish the right context for exporting success
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Convene the Board of Trade to serve the whole of the UK. The Board of Trade includes advisers from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and meetings will move around the country so that it can best represent all of the UK |
| Establish consortia and a ‘Team UK’ approach that helps British firms tender for the highest value contracts abroad; and UK firms win the largest possible share of benefit from exporting opportunities |
| Increase the demand for UK goods and services and encourage international buyers to choose UK suppliers over our competitors through the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Campaign |
| Working with business, DIT will lead the creation of a new export strategy, convening expertise from across Government and the private sector. This strategy will ensure that Government has the right financial, practical and promotional support in place to allow businesses to benefit from growth opportunities, generating wealth and wellbeing for the whole of the UK |
1.2 Government–to–Government engagement to support UK exporters
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Engage in dialogue at a Government-to-Government level on behalf of UK businesses |
| Provide governmental assistance to company-led campaigns to grow the UK’s global defence, security and cyber export markets |
| Promote the Defence industry in a responsible manner, working closely with colleagues at the Home Office, Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to prevent the proliferation of unregulated sales |
1.3 Encourage and inform businesses that exporting can help firms succeed and grow
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Use the Exporting is GREAT campaign in the UK to promote the benefits of trade and inspire UK businesses to take action |
| Raise awareness of the financial/credit support for exporters available from UK Export Finance (UKEF), which has a mission that no viable export should fail for want of finance or insurance, whilst operating at no net cost to the taxpayer |
1.4 Provide UK firms with support to help them achieve success in exporting
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Provide firms with online tools which are ‘digital-by-design’ to smooth the exporting journey for all businesses at great.gov.uk |
| Using behavioural insights and data, identify firms that DIT can ‘nudge’ towards exporting with information, advice and support |
| Provide face-to-face expertise to firms which helps them improve their exporting capability |
| Provide country and sector specific expertise and promotion across 177 posts in 108 countries worldwide supporting UK exports in the highest potential markets |
| Help businesses identify new customers overseas, for example at Trade Shows |
1.5 Support UK firms making investments overseas
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Through several pilots across the world DIT is developing an evidence base on how best to support UK firms prosper and grow through overseas investment. |
Our performance
Value of our customers’ export wins (£billion)
£41.6 2016/17
Source: Department for International Trade Annual Reports and Accounts 2016 to 2017/Release schedule: annual
New exporters supported to achieve export wins
2,811 2016/17
Source: Department for International Trade Annual Reports and Accounts 2016 to 2017/Release schedule: annual
2. Ensure the UK is recognised as the best place to invest and to attract, retain and grow international investment that strengthens the economy
Lead minister:
Graham Stuart MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Lead officials:
Until October 2017: Dr Catherine Raines, Director General International Trade and Investment From Spring 2018: Director General Chief Investment Officer (currently recruiting)
2.1 Generate increased international awareness of the benefits and opportunities of investing in the UK
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Promote the whole of the UK as the natural choice for overseas investment through the ‘Invest in GREAT Britain Campaign’ |
| Run events both in the UK and abroad, and deliver UK-level attendance at major international events to raise the profile of UK products and services |
2.2 Provide advice and support to internationally-owned businesses wanting to invest in the UK
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Provide information, advice and an end-to-end concierge service to investors, both in the UK and overseas, that helps them prosper and succeed to invest and reinvest in the UK; through frontline advice and proposals by experts; key account management of existing investors; working closely with private sector partners; expert advisors working with colleagues across Government, and with London and Devolved Administrations |
| Attract capital investment into UK infrastructure development, regeneration, energy and transport projects; and into UK capital markets, including for high-growth firms |
| Attract world leading entrepreneurs to the UK with the help of a network that champions the UK as a destination to establish global potential scale-up businesses |
Our performance
Number of involved inward investment successes
1,859
2016/17
Source: Department for International Trade Annual Reports and Accounts 2016 to 2017/ Release schedule: annual
3. Open markets, building a trade framework with new and existing partners which is free and fair
Lead minister:
Greg Hands MP, Minister of State for Trade Policy
Lead official:
John Alty, Director General for Trade Policy
3.1 Deliver the UK’s Trade Policy as we exit the EU
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Influence and implement the EU’s Trade Policy until the UK’s exit |
| Establish the UK as an independent member of the World Trade Organization and continue to support a rules-based global trading environment |
| Supporting the Department for Exiting the European Union’s work to exit the UK from the EU with respect to trade interests |
| Ensuring a level playing field by designing a trade remedies and disputes framework to support UK industry facing difficulties as a result of unfair and harmful trading practices |
3.2 Prepare for an independent trade policy following the UK’s exit from the EU
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Prepare for the negotiation and the joining of new and existing plurilateral trade deals, and new bilateral trade deals and establish continuity arrangements for existing EU-third country agreements |
| Fostering stronger integration of trade promotion and policy to reflect return of trade policy to UK |
3.3 Encourage support for free trade amongst UK businesses, stakeholders and the wider public
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Present the UK as a leading global voice championing the benefits of free trade and deepening global trade links that promote standards worldwide |
| Encourage support for trade that is transparent and inclusive amongst UK businesses, stakeholders and the wider public |
4. Use trade and investment to underpin the Government’s agenda for a Global Britain and its ambitions for prosperity, stability and security worldwide
Lead minister:
The Rt. Hon Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade
Lead officials:
Rosalind Campion, Director International
4.1 Structure trade and investment promotion around local needs across the Globe
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Appoint nine Her Britannic Majesty’s Trade Commissioners; and segment the department’s global focus into nine geographical regions, each responsible for overseeing the delivery of a Regional Trade Plan |
4.2 Improve our trade and investment support for businesses looking to operate in developing countries
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Work with DfID’s Trade for Development team to assist in building trade capacity in developing countries, contributing to their economic development and building strong ties to the growth markets of the future |
4.3 Build the UK’s relationships with overseas markets and maximise bilateral trade
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Conduct visits by Ministers, supplemented by the Business Ambassador and Trade Envoy Networks, which underline our commitment to developing and maintaining trade relationships with overseas markets |
| Promote the UK as a destination for tourism, education as well as trade and investment, with the Government-wide GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign |
4.4 Coordinate strategically important stakeholders’ relationships with UK Government
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Through the Strategic Relationship Management (SRM) programme provide a single point of contact coordinating HMG support for firms to engage with businesses |
Our Performance
Trade Envoys
20
There are currently 20 Trade Envoys, covering 40 markets. In 2016/17 they undertook over 50 visits worldwide
Source: Department for International Trade
Visits
47
Since June 2017, DIT ministers have undertaken 47 international visits
Source: Department for International Trade
GREAT Britain Campaign
144
The GREAT Campaign works to encourage the world to visit, study and do business with the UK, generating jobs and growth for the UK. It is active in over 144 countries
Source: Department for International Trade
Build DIT as an effective International Economic Department where our people are experts, enterprising, engaged and inclusive
Lead minister:
The Rt. Hon Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade
Lead official:
Catherine Vaughan, Director General Chief Operating Officer
Ensure we have the right skills and capabilities to deliver
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Design and recruit to a new corporate leadership structure for the department |
| Establish our learning and development offer for staff at all levels of the organisation |
| Develop the core professional capability for Commercial, Digital, Finance, Project Delivery, Analysts and HR |
| Support the establishment of the Trade Faculty and set up a cross-Whitehall Trade Profession |
Create the right operating environment for our people
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Ensure we have the right estate to accommodate the Department |
| Deliver new digital and technology infrastructure, tools, systems, and equipment |
Create a ‘One DIT’ culture
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Develop the Department’s vision and mission, ensuring they resonate both with our global agenda and our global workforce |
| Implement the Department’s first People Plan and improve our People Survey Scores |
| Implement a digital workspace as an intranet and internal collaboration tool |
Refresh our performance framework to ensure this better reflects DIT broader range of objectives across trade policy, promotion and finance
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| We will give all parts of the organisation greater flexibility to rebalance resource to ensure that they are incentivising activity that will have the biggest impact in the medium to long-term, recognising that some activities have longer lead times |
| As a result of this planning process, Her Britannic Majesty’s Trade Commissioners will agree a plan with the Departmental Board, for which they will be held accountable |
Our finances
Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) - £370.9 million
Resource DEL (including depreciation) - £364.3 million
Capital DEL - £6.7 million
Annually Managed Expenditure – £3.0 million
Control totals included in this document are in line with the latest voted by Parliament in the Main Supply Estimates 2017/18
Source: Main Supply Estimates 2017-2018