§ Mr. Lathamasked the Minister for Trade whether he will make a statement on the results of his Department in achieving the Government's policy programme since the previous Secretary of State's reply to the hon. Member for Melton on 14 July 1981, Official Report, c. 365.
§ Mr. Peter Rees[pursuant to his reply, 21 July 1982, c. 155.]: During the past year Department of Trade Ministers have continued to make overseas visits to promote trade generally and support the efforts of British exporters. Ministers, in some cases supported by industrialists, have visited the following countries: Algeria, Austria, Bahrain, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.
The Department, under the guidance of the British Overseas Trade Board still continues to provide a wide range of services to assist British exporters. In the last year, which saw a surplus on the balance of payments estimated at £7 billion, the Department supported over 274W 2,000 participants in some 120 business missions to overseas markets, helped approximately 5,000 individual visitors and supported over 7,000 exhibitors at more than 300 fairs and exhibitions overseas. A successful campaign to stimulate exports to Western Europe was undertaken by the Department.
The major restructuring of the trade promotions work of the Department under the guidance of the BOTB has been undertaken. Five new overseas trade divisions reporting to the Chief Executive of the BOTB have been created and the whole operation based at the Department's headquarters. This new organisation will act as a central clearing house of world trade information for the BOTB' s regional offices throughout the United Kingdom and will give companies throughout Britain ready access to up-to-date market information from over 200 British diplomatic posts overseas.
The Department has strengthened its ability to help and support companies pursuing large overseas projects. The projects and export policy division has developed close links with consultants and contractors in all sectors and has been active in mobilising the resources and facilities of Government to enable United Kingdom firms to compete as effectively as possible for major overseas business. The 275W overseas projects board has reviewed its priorities and adopted a revised structure to allow it to play an enlarged and more direct part in the improvement of United Kingdom project performance. On the board's recommendation, the overseas projects fund has been re-shaped into a more flexible and more closely targeted instrument of support.
The Export Credit Guarantee Department, for which my right hon. and noble Friend is also responsible, has continued to provide a wide range of credit assurance facilities to British exporters at no cost to public funds.
As regards general trade policy questions, the Department has participated fully in the European Community's preparations for the forthcoming meeting of the general agreement on tariffs and trade at Ministerial level. It has continued to support the Community's policy of seeking to promote the maintenance and strengthening of the open world trading system whilst protecting British industry against damaging sudden surges in imports and against dumped or subsidised import competition. We are preparing to make a vigorous contribution through the Community in the three-yearly review of the GATT agreements on Government procurement and technical barriers to trade. The Department has continued to assist industry in pursuing complaints against injurious, dumped or subsidised imports, and remedies have been obtained in a number of cases investigated by the European Commission.
The Department has continued to ensure the tightest possible application of the restraint arrangement for textiles associated with the GATT multi-fibre arrangement and participated actively in the preparation of the Community's position for the re-negotiation of the arrangement last December. Subsequently it has been playing a full part in the continuing re-negotiation of the Community's bilateral agreements with supplying countries under the arrangement and of the complementary restraint arrangements with the Mediterranean countries.
In the area of relations with developing countries for which the Department is responsible, it has participated actively in the inter-sessional work of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Developments and in early preparations for the sixth session of the conference, which is to be held next year. The Department has continued to seek a workable and generally acceptable outcome to negotiations in UNCTAD on an international code of conduct on the transfer of technology. On 31 December 1981, the United Kingdom ratified the agreement establishing the common fund for commodities and the Department has continued to take an active part in meetings of the preparatory commission.
A new Government initiative on standards was announced by my right hon. and noble Friend on 7 June which is aimed at promoting a stronger standards system for greater export competitiveness. The Department is convinced that standards supported by quality assurance have a central role to play in the international competitiveness of British industry. The Government's proposals will be published shortly and a central feature of these will be an agreement with the British Standards Institution, of the national standards making body. BSI will be asked to review, through its committees, the corpus of national standards, and to verify that they are suitable for use in overseas trade and public procurement, and—where appropriate—for regulatory purposes. The free movement of goods across international frontiers is an 276W important element in maintaining and increasing our share of world trade, and during the past year the Department has continued its work in seeking the elimination of technical barriers to trade arising from disparate national standards, both within the Community through the article 100 programme and elsewhere through the GATT agreement on technical barriers to trade.
The Department has continued to help a wide range of exporters who have experienced particular difficulties as a result of the policies of other governments, notably the United States of America and Japan.
The Department has continued its work on administration, regulation and international negotiation in the fields of company law, commercial agency, insurance, insolvency, competition policy, patents, trade marks, copyright, civil aviation and maritime affairs.
The Companies Bill completed its passage through Parliament in October 1981. Provisions to enable companies to purchase their own shares, strengthen the law on disclosure of interests in shares, implement the EC fourth directive on company accounts, utilise administrative resources more effectively in the fields of company and business names, and make other reforms have been brought into force in a series of orders made between then and June 1982.
In the field of securities, Professor L. C. B. Gower was commissioned in July 1981 to review the legal protection for the investor, and increased emphasis has been given to the effective use and enforcement of existing powers and obligations.
The proposals made in the July 1980 Green Paper on bankruptcy (Cmnd. 7976) will be reviewed again in the light of the recommendations made in the report of the Insolvency Law Review Committee (Cmnd. 8558) chaired by Sir Kenneth Cork. Consideration is also being given to the responses to the July 1981 Green Paper on the reform of the law relating to copyright, designs and performers' protection (Cmnd. 8302).
The Director General of Fair Trading continues to exercise the powers given to him by the Competition Act 1980 to investigate alleged anti-competitive practices. Since the entry into operation of sections 2 to 10 of the Act in August 1980, the Director General has initiated nine preliminary investigations. Three of these have led to references to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, which has reported on the first reference made to it. Improved arrangements have been introduced for the scrutiny of nationalised industries' efficiency by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
The Department continues to support and encourage the tourist industry, mainly by providing financial aid to the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourist Board to promote the development of tourism. A review has also been initiated to examine, in particular, whether there is any unnecessary duplication in the overseas promotion of tourism in Great Britain. It has also been announced that in future suitable tourist projects in all parts of England will be eligible to be considered for selective assistance under section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969; hitherto this assistance has been confined to the Assisted Areas.
In civil aviation, we have continued to look for opportunities to liberalise access to routes and for greater competition on fares, particularly in Western Europe, where this is consistent with a reasonable return to an efficient airline.
277WWe have encouraged the development of airports outside the London area by authorising capital expenditure at those airports at a higher level than any previous year.
The Department has also encouraged the development of more efficient methods of carrying out security checks at airports, which have helped us to reduce by more than a quarter the aviation security levy.
The Department has introduced Merchant Shipping (Liner Conferences) Bill. Its objective is to enable the United Kingdom to implement the United Nations convention on code of conduct for liner conferences, which is expected to come into force during 1983.
The Department has been actively involved in measures arising out of the Falklands crisis. In particular, acting as agents for the Ministry of Defence, it was responsible for the requisitioning or chartering of around 50 ships from trade for support of the task force and dealing with compensation for requisitioning and chartering, including insurance. This is in addition to the Department's responsibility for imposition of the export ban on arms and strategic equipment and the restrictions on imports from Argentina.
Finally, in the maritime field, the Department has continued to play an active part in the work of the International Maritime Organisation. It is our policy that the world's merchant shipping fleet should operate to the highest possible common standards of safety. We have played an important role in IMO in ensuring that priority should now be given to the enforcement of existing international regulations concerning ship safety by as many countries as possible. A new structure of certificates of competency for Merchant Navy deck and engineer officers came into force in September 1981. Protection of the health and safety of merchant seamen at work will be furthered by regulations controlling means of access to ships, providing for the appointment of safety officials aboard ship, and the introduction of a new system of reporting accidents to seamen.
There have also been important developments concerning the prevention and control of pollution at sea. The Department is strongly supporting the early adoption of a new international convention of the prevention of pollution. In addition it can now more effectively deal with marine pollution incidents using aerial dispersant spraying techniques.