§ Mr. Mayhewasked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) for how long export certificates have been issued by his Department to exporters free of charge; for what reasons he has now imposed a charge of £3 for these certificates; and what revenue he expects to receive from this charge in a full year;
(2) what representations he has received concerning his decision to impose a charge of £5 for the issue of overseas status reports.
§ Mr. MeacherStatus reports have been issued without charge since 1934, but last April, against a background of rising costs and the pressing need for economy in public expenditure, the British Overseas Trade Board, with the approval of the then Secretary of State, introduced the £5 charge, which is still substantially less than the cost of this service. Present indications are that the charge will yield around £20,000 annually. The Government have received 24 letters complaining about the charge.