Twenty-First Report - Government support for UK exporters

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 679 28 October 2020
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 24 items (6 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 21 of 24 classified)
Accepted 12
Accepted in Part 2
Not Addressed 3
Rejected 4
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-first report from Session 2019-21 · published 4 Feb 2021
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Clear

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 results
3 Recommendation Rejected
The Department for International Trade’s contribution to export performance is unclear because of a lack...
Recommendation
The Department for International Trade’s contribution to export performance is unclear because of a lack of robust metrics. It is important for any public body to be clear about and accountable for what it is trying to achieve, and the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government explicitly rejects this recommendation, stating it already publishes a balanced suite of metrics and is developing more for priority outcomes. It will not commit to publishing any specific additional metrics until their robustness and accuracy are confirmed.
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion Rejected
In 2018, the Government announced its export strategy and an ambition to raise exports as...
Conclusion
In 2018, the Government announced its export strategy and an ambition to raise exports as a proportion of GDP from 30% to 35%.24 This committee has recently highlighted how important it is for any public body to be clear about … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government explicitly disagrees, stating it already publishes a balanced suite of export performance indicators and has developed a framework including a theory of change. It will not commit to publishing additional metrics until they are robust and accurate, effectively rejecting the committee's implicit call for clearer targets and improved performance measures.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Rejected
The Department informed us that it has a “raft of other measures” that it could...
Conclusion
The Department informed us that it has a “raft of other measures” that it could be measured against, including international comparators. It highlighted its ‘export wins’ measure, which is the value of exports that it thinks it has directly contributed … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government explicitly disagrees, stating it already publishes a balanced suite of metrics and is developing more for priority outcomes. It commits to developing a better understanding of its impact but will not commit to publishing any specific additional metrics until their robustness is confirmed.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion Rejected
The Department told us that it has recently introduced a value for money model to...
Conclusion
The Department told us that it has recently introduced a value for money model to assess the impact of its different interventions, but it is still relatively new. It recognised that there is work to do to improve its overall … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government explicitly disagrees with the implied recommendation, stating it already publishes a balanced suite of export performance metrics and is developing a theory of change. It commits to developing a better understanding of its impact but will not commit to publishing any specific additional metrics until they are deemed robust and accurate.
HM Treasury
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