§ 5. Mr. Holtasked the President of the Board of Trade the usual length of time required by the Export Credit Guarantees Department for the consideration of applications.
§ Mr. Vaughan-MorganSeventy-five per cent. of applications for approvals of amounts which may be shipped to individual buyers under short-term policies are dealt with within three days. The time taken to deal with applications for policies varies considerably. If the hon. Member would let me know exactly what sort of application he has in mind. I will see if it is possible to give him more precise information.
§ Mr. HoltI am obliged for that Answer. When there is delay, is it due, possibly, to the inadequacy of machinery in some countries for obtaining the necessary information, and does the Minister feel that more professional advice, rather than reliance on the trade attachés in the different countries, would be better?
§ Mr. Vaughan-MorganI should want to examine what the hon. Gentleman means by "professional advice". Inevitably, there is some delay when it is a matter of investigating the creditworthiness of a firm in what may be a distant country. It would be best if the 191 hon. Gentleman would let me have particulars of any case he may have in mind, and I will look into it myself.