To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she is taking to persuade companies to maintain jobs in the UK rather than outsource abroad. [134438]

As companies in the UK are operating in an increasingly competitive, global marketplace, they must have the freedom to choose where to locate in order to maximise their competitive advantage. If we chose to operate a protectionist approach, we would run the risk of forcing companies to locate completely out of the UK. This would not be to our long term economic benefit.We will continue to create a stable, competitive environment in the UK. Our long term economic interest will be based on our ability to innovate to produce high value- added goods and services which need a highly skilled workforce, high calibre managers, forward looking unions and knowledgeable consumers.