Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Export of UK Services

Thursday 21 July 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government committed to promoting UK's strengths in services exports
  • Latest figures show service exports at 316 billion for the 12 months to end of May
  • Scotland's service exports worth over 21 billion in 2020-21, making it third largest exporting region in UK

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Steven Bonnar
Business & Trade
Context

The MP is seeking an assessment of recent trends in the level of exports of UK services, highlighting the importance of understanding current performance.

Question

What recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of exports of UK services. The latest figures show a significant increase but the Member seeks details on any recent analysis or reports.

Answer from Andrew Griffith

The Government are committed to promoting the UK's world leading strengths in services. Latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that service exports were £316 billion in the 12 months to the end of May, an increase of 7% on the previous 12 months. The Government's export strategy, published in November 2021, recognises the importance of services and commits the Government to working with the sector in its implementation.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The MP asked for a recent assessment, but the response provided general figures without specifying any recent analysis or report.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q2 Steven Bonnar
Scotland Brexit Business & Trade
Context

The Centre for Economic Policy Research has reported a significant drop in service exports to the EU since Brexit, raising concerns about future stability and growth. The MP is questioning whether the Government have a plan to address this issue.

Question

Since Brexit there has been a 6% drop in service exports to the EU according to Centre for Economic Policy Research. Services are Scotland's biggest export, so what, if anything, is the Department doing to stabilise and grow them? There is a real fear that the Government have no real plan for progress or change.

Answer from Andrew Griffith

As we recover, we expect to see a continued increase in services exports. The hon. Member is right that Scotland is a significant exporter of services—worth more than £21 billion in 2020-21—making it the third largest exporting region in the UK. I wish all of our Scottish service exporters well, and it is the work of this Department to try to continue to grow that.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The MP asked for specific actions and plans to stabilize and grow service exports but received general assurances without detailed action points.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email