§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the cost to public funds of each of the 12 outward missions made in 1982 and the nine made up to 22 June 1983 by the Birmingham chamber of industry and commerce; how many persons went on each overseas visit; what were their names and companies; and what orders resulted from each trip.
§ Mr. ChannonInformation on the 21 British Overseas Trade Board-supported outward trade missions organised by the Birmingham chamber of industry and commerce during 1982 and to 22 June 1983 is provided as follows. Names of firms and individuals taking part have not been included, since such information could be commercially sensitive.
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Mission/Market/Date Number of Companies Participating* Total Firm Orders Reported Estimate of Possible Additional Orders Cost to BOTB Singapore/Indonesia (18 February–4 March) 12 229,413 1,880,000 11,690 Yemen Arab Republic (4–11 March) 13 335,000 6,140,200 6,150 Korea (4–11 March) 17 113,900 7,305,000 15,010 Australia (7–22 April) 20 503,400 4,575,000 18,040 Philippines/Hong Kong (16–29 April) 18 134,939 1,444,500 15,395 Iraq/Kuwait/Qatar (6–20 May) 11 182,820 5,055,000 4,680 Iran (20–31 May) 15 422,300 12,627,000 6,375 USSR (13–17 June) 17 — 15,040,000 5,700 Totals 311 6,658,844 140,387,326 197,965 * BOTB grant is normally payable to one representative per company only. The number of companies participating is therefore, in the majority of cases, the same as the number of company representatives who went on each trip. Apart from company representatives missions are also accompanied by a Mission Secretary who is provided by the organiser or sponsor.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the reasons for the larger number of government-sponsored overseas visits made by the Birmingham chamber of industry and commerce than by any other organisation in 1982 and 1983.
§ Mr. ChannonFollowing the Rayner report on my Department's services to exporters and to achieve economies in public expenditure and civil service manpower, the number of outward trade missions supported by the British Overseas Trade Board was reduced by about half with effect from April 1981. This was done by reducing the geographical coverage of the scheme and by limiting the number of missions allocated to each of the organisations (mainly chambers of commerce and trade associations) who sponsor missions.
The allocations or quotas were based on the level of sponsors' previous outward mission activity in the markets included in the scheme under the revised geographical coverage. The quota system has been in operation for over two years, and although there has been some re-allocation of unused quotas in response to demand, Birmingham chamber's mission activity reflects the application of this system.