§ Mr. FavellTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, further to his reply of 18 December 1989,Official Report, columns 23–24, what conclusions have been reached on the future of the Export Credits Guarantee Department, after separation of the insurance services group.
§ Mr. LilleyMy right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has agreed that ECGD will continue as a separate Government Department, with the chief executive reporting directly to the Minister for Trade and me.
The immediate priority of ECGD's management is to prepare, subject to enabling legislation, for the separation and sale of the insurance services group.
The work of the remaining part of ECGD is essentially an executive function of the Government, and as such falls within the scope of the Prime Minister's statement of February 1988 launching the "next steps" project. The ECGD is engaged in redefining its financial objectives and developing a more consistent methodology for market assessment and underwriting decisions. This is compatible with the "next steps" approach, and agency status will be further considered when we have experience of how the new arrangements are working.