HC Deb 12 November 1997 vol 300 cc568-9W
Ann Clwyd

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list the export licences revoked by her Department since 1990; and what is the practice of her Department regarding the payment of compensation to the licensees. [13322]

Mrs. Roche

Over the years, a large number of standard individual export licences have been revoked for a range of reasons; for instance, because of the introduction of UN trade sanctions or arms embargos or in response to wrongdoing. It would entail disproportionate cost to provide details of all these licences.

The practice of this Department is to pay compensation for revocation of export licences only where the Department incurs a legal liability as a result of the revocation.

Ann Clwyd

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the original cost of the Export Licence Information Processing System; and how much it will cost to develop a new database. [15302]

Mrs. Roche

[holding answer 10 November 1997]The cost of developing the Export Control Licensing Information Processing System (ECLIPS), up to point of implementation in March 1995, is put at £4,447,600.

Development of a new database of export licence applications and establishing a system to enable such applications to be submitted in electronic form is expected to cost £424,000.