Corporate report

The Trade Remedies Authority Business Plan 2021-22

Published 1 June 2021

1. Chief Executive’s introduction

It is a pleasure to introduce the first Business Plan of the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA). The TRA was launched on 1 June 2021, after Royal Assent for our enabling legislation, the Trade Act 2021. The Business Plan therefore covers the period from June 2021 to March 2022. I suggest that you read it alongside our Corporate Plan for 2021-24, which we are publishing at the same time.

The TRA’s mission is to defend UK economic interests against unfair international trade practices. This Plan sets out what we will be focusing on over the next 10 months to achieve this. At its heart is carrying out really high quality, digitally enabled investigations, whether reviewing measures that we have brought over from the time of the UK’s membership of the EU or carrying out new investigations. As at the start of this Plan, we have 11 live cases – initiated while TRA staff were operating as a directorate within the Department for International Trade – and a number of these cases will be reaching their final decision point over the coming months.

The Plan also sets out the key enablers that will allow us to find our feet as a new public body and to carry out each investigation impartially, proportionately, efficiently and transparently. Most important for me are our people and our culture. We need to build up to our full complement of staff, attracting a diverse range of high-potential individuals motivated by our mission, to supplement our existing staff who have brought the TRA to where it is now. We need to embed dynamic leadership and continuous learning throughout the organisation. And we all need, every day, to live up to our values of expertise, integrity, inclusion and transparency.

The coronavirus pandemic has inevitably impacted TRA’s core business. Our staff – over half of whom have joined since the first restrictions came into force in March 2020 – have adapted with great professionalism to remote working, which for us has included the remote verification of case data rather than travelling to inspect facilities.

A number of the sectors covered by our transition reviews have been severely affected by the economic turmoil of the last 15 months, in some instances limiting their ability to fully participate in cases. As restrictions lift, a priority for us will be envisioning and implementing our new working practices, taking into account insights from the past year, the benefits that we know flexibility can provide for our staff, and ensuring that the ways we work maximise our delivery of this Plan.

We are a young organisation and we will be developing further details of this Business Plan during the next ten months, as core assumptions, such as the number of new investigations, becomes clearer. Next year, we will report on how we have done against the Plan.

Oliver Griffiths Chief Executive Officer

2. Our business and strategy

We have been established as a Non-Departmental Public Body to undertake investigations into unfair trade practices and to make recommendations on appropriate measures to the Secretary of State for International Trade. Our overall mission is to defend UK economic interests against unfair international trade practices. As part of the work needed to create a UK-specific trade remedies system outside the European Union (EU), we are also carrying out transition reviews into existing EU trade remedy measures which were carried across into our domestic law when the UK left the EU. Our reviews will test if the measures are right for the UK economy or if changes might be needed.

As described in our Corporate Plan, we will focus on achieving four strategic goals over the next three years. We will:

1. Undertake fair, impartial, rigorous and efficient investigations.
2. Provide a high-quality experience for end-users, through digitally enabled delivery.
3. Develop an expert and innovative organisation where people enjoy working.
4. Be well-understood, known and respected by our domestic and international stakeholders.

3. Our priorities for June 2021 – March 2022

As a new arm’s length body, we will immediately establish arrangements for sound governance, setting out our performance measures and working with the Board and other stakeholders to develop our engagement strategy. We will aim to assess all new case applications within the statutory timescales and deliver transition reviews of 11 transitioned measures. In addition, we plan to achieve full staffing levels by retaining and developing our existing people and attracting additional talent to reach our planned full complement.

We will target our activity across seven priorities sitting within three broad areas of activity – our core business, our external enablers and our internal enablers. These seven priorities are described below. All detailed success metrics will be developed and agreed with the TRA Board.

4. TRA priorities 2021/22

• Trade remedies casework
• TRA commencement
• Digital capabilities
• TRA profile
• Our leadership
• Our people and culture
• Financial Resources

5. Core business

5.1 Trade remedies casework

we will carry out our cases in a timely and efficient fashion, following fair, transparent processes and making robust recommendations founded on rigorous analysis. We will assess applications and conduct our investigations consistently with law and guidance. Success will be measured by reviewing our performance in investigations, including on timescales.

5.2 Digital capabilities

we will enhance the user experience of our Trade Remedies Service (TRS) based on sound user data and ensure our information management systems are secure. We will do this by setting a vision and strategy for a digitally enabled TRA and by ensuring our cyber security and information management systems meet good practice standards. Success will be measured by having a digital vision in place along with a project plan to achieving that vision. We will also seek TRS user feedback and ensure we comply with good practice standards.

5.3 TRA commencement

we will successfully establish ourselves as an arm’s length body and set performance measures for our strategic and annual delivery. We will do this by having a Framework Agreement in place, publishing our Corporate and Business Plans as the TRA and ensuring we have an effective governance system. Success will be measured through performance against the Framework Agreement, recommendations from internal audit reviews, and through a new corporate performance dashboard.

5.4 TRA profile

we will develop a vision, strategy and success measures for stakeholder engagement. We will put in place a TRA engagement strategy enabling the TRA’s corporate external relationships to be prioritised, planned and coordinated across the organisation. Success will be measured through delivery of that strategy and through engagement statistics for our website and social media channels.

6. Internal enablers

6.1 Our leadership

we will build trusted leadership and effectively empower our workforce, leading the TRA through clear direction and decision-making. We will do this by focusing on this Plan’s priorities and by building a new collective approach to leadership. Success will be measured through improvements in our People Survey scores for leadership and managing change.

6.2 Our people and culture

we will attract, retain and develop our people by improving our ways of working, showing mutual respect, supporting each other and holding ourselves to high standards and behaviours. We will do this by reaching our target headcount, investing in learning and development, creating a Pay and Reward Strategy and focusing on our values and behaviours in shaping the TRA we want to be. We will make the TRA an enjoyable and successful organisation in which to work, fully resourced both to conduct investigations and for corporate delivery. Success will be measured through improvements in our People Survey scores for engagement, learning and development as well as inclusion and fair treatment.

6.3 Financial resources

we will ensure that we secure value for money in maximising the impact of our financial resources. We will do this by establishing frameworks and internal controls for financial planning, management and reporting and processes to counter the risks of fraud, bribery and money-laundering. Success will be measured via outturn-to-budget variances and assurances received from the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, Internal Audit and the National Audit Office.

7. Business delivery

Our target headcount for 2021-22 is 143 people.

Our priority is to ensure the Trade Remedies Authority is a place where our people are proud to work and enjoy what they do.

8. Overview of budget

The budget for pay and non-pay costs are shown below, representing the equivalent figures for the period April 2021 to 31 March 2022. The precise grant to be allocated to the TRA for the period 1 June 2021 to 31 March 2022 has yet to be set by the Department for International Trade.

TRA Budget	2021-22
Total Budget	14,578,971
Pay	8,949,721
Total Non-Pay, of which:	5,629,250
Digital & ICT	1,788,883
VAT	911,953
Outsourced contracts	809,012
Estates	791,038
Learning and development	394,020
Travel and subsistence	353,783
Research and development	80,400
Other costs	500,161

9. Risks to achieving this plan

There are risks which may prevent us from delivering what we set out in this Business Plan. Our Executive Committee will review risks monthly and agree mitigating actions to ensure we can achieve our Business Plan priorities and remain on track in the delivery of our Corporate Plan. The Board and our Audit and Risk Assurance Committee will provide objective oversight and assurance of our risk management framework and our strategic risks.

Below are the risks that we are actively managing at the launch of the TRA.

1. Failing to undertake investigations in an impartial and rigorous manner or in line with legal requirements.
2. Delays in delivering reviews and/or cases and governance workstreams to statutory deadlines.
3. Lack of engagement with case parties means our cases are weakened by delay and/ or an inability to gather or process all relevant information.
4. The TRA’s Accounting Officer is unable to fulfil his personal responsibilities.
5. We are subjected to a cyber-attack and/ or information security failings.
6. We do not attract and develop the skilled and engaged workforce needed to achieve our mission and vision.