§ Mr. Conwayasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the average length of time taken to process inquiries with the Export Credits Guarantee Department.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherMost inquiries received by the Department are from exporters seeking credit limits on overseas buyers. Regular checks show that at least a quarter of these are being answered by return and more than 40 per cent. within five days. Less than one third take longer than two weeks and almost always these involve ECGD in having to seek information from credit sources overseas, often a lengthy process in many countries. No record is readily available of the time taken to process other kinds of inquiry.