§ Sir John FarrTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the United Kingdom's relative position in world textile machinery exports in(a) 1970 and (b) 1990; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. SainsburyInformation is readily available only for the OECD countries and in a form which includes leather working machinery. On this basis the United Kingdom was the second-largest OECD exporter of textile machines to world markets in 1970 and the seventh largest in 1988, the latest year for which data are obtainable.
§ Sir John FarrTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what request his Department received to supply support to Camber International Ltd. of Leicester at the recent international textile manufacturing exhibition in China; what response was made; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. SainsburyOn 23 February 1990 my Department formally offered to provide financial support to a group of British companies recruited by the British Textile Machinery Association to participate in this exhibition. An application from Camber International Ltd. to join the supported group was received early in May 1990. The association was informed on 10 May 1990 that the company was not eligible. This was because DTI trade fair assistance is restricted to three participations in any country, and Camber International had benefited from such support on three previous occasions in China.
The company subsequently appealed against the decision on the grounds that it had been subject of successive takeovers and that in its new form the company had not previously exhibited in China. The appeal was rejected because it was considered that the reconstituted company was still producing broadly the same range of equipment as had benefited from the previous supported exhibition participations in China.