§ Mr. Gorstasked the Secretary of State for 'Trade and Industry whether he is 492W satisfied that there are adequate arrangements within his Department to bring to the attention of British manufacturers tenders arising within EEC countries for contracts of a value in excess of £100,000; and which section of his Department undertakes this service to industry.
§ Sir G. HoweYes. The commercial staff of the Diplomatic Service in the Community countries as elsewhere is continuously seeking out information about export opportunities large and small, public and private, which are judged to be of interest to British firms. This intelligence is passed by the quickest appropriate means to my Department, which disseminates it selectively through the computerised Export Intelligence Service. Where a tender is very short dated the details are communicated by telephone or telex to the interested firms. Our entry into the Community should increase the opportunities for British exporters. My Department is monitoring the Official Journal of the European Communities and also other sources for information on large public works contracts in order to disseminate the resulting information through the Export Intelligence Service.