§ 22 and 24. Mr. HANNONasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department (1) whether he can state the actual amount received by the Insurance Department of Overseas Trade respect of recoveries and salvages; and what is the amount of premiums held by the Department the risk on which has not yet expired;
1643 (2) the total amount received in premiums in the Insurance Department of the Department of Overseas Trade since the inception of the scheme; what is the total amount of payments made by the Department in respect of claims received; and how many claims against the Insurance Department are still outstanding?
§ Mr. A. M. SAMUEL (Secretary, Overseas Trade Department)As the reply to these questions is necessarily long, I trust that my hon. Friend will give me his permission to circulate them in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the answer:
§ I presume that my hon. Friend refers to the Guarantees Scheme administered by the Export Credits Department of the Department of Overseas Trade.
§ The answers to the questions asked by my hon. Friend are as follows:
- (i) The total amount received in premiums since the inception of the scheme to the 31st March last is £182,718.
- (ii) The total amount of payments made by the Department under its guarantees up to 31st March last is £521,433.
- (iii) No claims against the Department are outstanding. The Department's practice is to make good its guarantee immediately on default, subject to such recoveries and salvage as may subsequently be obtainable.
- (iv) The total amount received in respect of recoveries and salvage to the 31st March last is £290,894. There is every reason to suppose that further sums will be received under this head.
- (v) The amount of premiums held by the Department in respect of guarantees not yet expired is £10,874.
§ 23. Mr. HANNONasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department the total sum allocated for the staff and running expenses of the Insurance Department of the Department of Overseas Trade; and what was the profit or loss incurred by that Department for the three years ending January, 1926?
§ Mr. SAMUELThe total sum spent on staff and running expenses of the Export Credits Department since the inception of the Guarantees Scheme in 1921 to the 31st March, 1926, was approximately £40,000. As to the last part of my hon. Friend's question, the Committee on Credit Insurance, in their Report which was recently presented to Parliament, arrived at the conclusion that up to the present time the Department had made neither material profit nor loss.