Siobhan Baillie The Stroud MP s weekly column. I had the pleasure last week of hosting a web event for local businesses to learn about exporting alongside Gloucester MP Richard Graham. I am part of the Department of International Trade’s (DIT) Parliamentary Export Programme, which aims to encourage companies to export and to help them gain access to the comprehensive support DIT can offer. The work DIT can do to get people trading across the globe is quite amazing and little known, although I hope to change that. Just a few highlights of the support available include a free Export Academy to give small and micro businesses export know how, the Internationalisation Fund, which offers funding to help small businesses export and trade missions in many countries to assist on the ground.
BUSINESSES across the Shipley constituency – which includes Cullingworth and Denholme – seeking to boost their export potential can access extra help. An online event has been organised by Shipley MP Philip Davies and the Department for International Trade, to outline changes in regulations following the UK’s split from the European Union and what support is available. Mr Davies, a founder member of the Parliamentary Export Programme, said: “Helping businesses across the constituency survive this pandemic is one of my top priorities. “We need to do everything we can to support our local businesses so they can thrive and protect jobs.