Committee publication · Correspondence · 15 July 2026

Correspondence from Department for Business and trade relating to Economic Growth Follow Up – Pausing of the Export Champions Programme, dated 14 July 2026.

From: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

Inquiry: Economic growth in Northern Ireland: new and emerging sectors

Summary

Blair McDougall, Minister for Small Businesses & Economic Transformation, notifies the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of the Department for Business and Trade's pause of the Export Champions Programme across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The programme, which deploys experienced exporters to mentor new businesses, is under review as part of broader export service transformation. Eleven Northern Ireland-based Export Champions are affected. A review of how the initiative can maximise impact within a 'digital first' service model is due later in 2026.

Key findings

The Export Champions Programme has been paused across Great Britain and Northern Ireland pending departmental review
11 Export Champions currently based in Northern Ireland are affected by the pause
The pause is part of wider transformation of Department for Business and Trade export service delivery
The Department has contacted all Export Champions to gather feedback on programme impact, gaps bridged, and integration with 'digital first' service model
Review completion is scheduled for later in 2026

Tone

Procedural

Topics

trade-and-exportssmall-businessnorthern-ireland-economic-developmentpublic-service-delivery

Key actors

Blair McDougall MP, Tonia Antoniazzi MP, Chris Bloore, Department for Business and Trade, Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

Notable line

“… the Export Champion programme has been paused across Great Britain and Northern Ireland whilst we review how we can use such initiatives to maximise the impact of people-to-people engagement …”

Key Quotes

“Export Champions are exporters from a wide range of sectors located across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who have experience of selling internationally and have great stories to tell.”
— Blair McDougall MP · Defining the Export Champions Programme

“The Department for Business and Trade is transforming the way that we deliver our export services, to make them easier to access for all businesses who need them, so we are taking some time to consider all our programmes.”
— Blair McDougall MP · Explaining the rationale for the pause

“We currently have 11 Export Champions based in Northern Ireland.”
— Blair McDougall MP · Noting the scale of the programme in Northern Ireland

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗