§ Ql. Mr. WellsTo ask the Prime Minister when he next expects to lead an overseas visit by a group of business men to obtain overseas inward investment or export orders.
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major)I hope to visit Japan in the autumn, accompanied by a delegation of senior British business men. My ministerial colleagues also take every opportunity to promote Britain and British business abroad. They are planning to lead at least 14 trade missions to 17 countries in the next year covering markets as diverse as Asia, Africa and the far east.
§ Mr. WellsI congratulate my right hon. Friend on the signal honour paid to him in being invited to India to take the Republic Day parade, on his flexibility in reorganising his schedule at the last minute to pay a visit to Saudi Arabia with business men accompanying him, and on obtaining a £4 billion order and securing 21,000 jobs, many of them in Hertford and Bishop's Stortford. Does he agree that, with the Budget increases to export credit guarantees of £1.2 billion and the favourable exchange rate, there are many more opportunities for our exporters to increase jobs and opportunities?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with my hon. Friend. The measures announced in the Budget will provide further export cover and cheaper export cover and that is on top of the changes previously made in the autumn statement. They will certainly help United Kingdom firms to win more business abroad and secure more jobs at home.
Mr. Robert AinsworthIs the Prime Minister aware that the non-European Community deficit rose in February to £1.3 billion? Does he realise that photo opportunities and the ongoing pretence will not solve the basic problem in the British economic system? When will he tackle the real issues?
§ The Prime MinisterI do not know what the hon. Gentleman means about photo opportunities. I should have thought that 21,000 jobs and many billions of pounds worth of trade were a good deal more than that.