§ Colonel GRETTONasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will furnish a statement of the guarantees which have been given, showing the items separately, and the amounts now outstanding under the Trades Facilities Act and under the Export Credits Scheme?
Mr. PETHIGK-LAWRENCEInformation with regard to the guarantees given under the Trade Facilities Acts and the amount outstanding under that scheme has been published in the White Papers issued under Section 1 (5) of the Acts ending with Command Paper No. 93 of 1931. As regards Export Credits, I am informed that from the introduction of the present Export Credits Guarantee Scheme in July, 1926, up to the end of June, 1931, the Export Credits Guarantee Department had entered into contracts guaranteeing the payment of bills of exchange for a maximum of £23,166,733 on which its maximum liability was £14,474,667. The amount outstanding on 30th June, 1931, was £6,566,534, on which the Department's 477W liability was £4,089,664. I am unable to show each item separately, as the Department is pledged not to disclose particulars of individual transactions.