§ Ms. QuinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many major inquiries were made by business under the overseas status report service for each month from September 1988 to date;
(2) how many substantive inquiries were made by business under the overseas status report service for each month from September 1988 to date.
§ Mr. Redwood[holding answer 21 March 1990]: The information that is readily available is as follows:
Reports paid for in the period September 1988 to March 1989 Reports September 1988 36 October 1988 63 November 1988 64 December 1988 70 January 1989 50 February 1989 53 March 1989 107 Following the introduction of the service card system of payment in 1989 it has not been possible to record the monthly use of this service. Use is estimated by quarters as follows:
Reports April to June 1989 80 July to September 1989 73 October to December 1989 66 January to March (to date) 1990 62 A breakdown of reports taking up to four hours and those taking more than four hours could be made available only at disproportionate cost.