§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the market information and export intelligence received from diplomatic service Posts and provided through the British Overseas Trade Board to exporters is provided free of charge to the latter.
899WA
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Lucas of Chilworth)General advice and information about overseas markets is provided free of charge. Specific investigations, such as reports provided under the Market Prospects Service, are charged for. Export sales opportunities and intelligence are channelled to companies through the computer based Export Intelligence Service and a charge is made for the notices which are selected automatically according to the wishes of each subscriber. Charging for specific services provides a proper test of their value and ensures the cost effectiveness of public money allocated to export promotion.