§ Mrs. LaitTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his policy towards export licences for South Africa and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NeedhamExport licence applications for South Africa, as for any other destination, are examined on their 103W merits on a case-by-case basis. Licensable goods are listed in the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1992, as amended. This takes account of the United Kingdom's commitments under the United Nations (Sanctions) Order SCR 392 1976, which covers the arms embargo.
§ Mrs. LaitTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the maximum and minimum times taken to grant export licences for(a) South Africa, (b) Poland and (c) Israel.
§ Mr. NeedhamThere are no minimum or maximum timescales.
Applications for South Africa and Israel which do not require advice from other Government Departments, and provided that the exporter has provided complete documentation, are normally issued within four to five working days from receipt. Applications which need further information from the exporter or are referred to other Government Departments for advice normally take four to six weeks to process.
Similarly, applications for Poland which do not need to be referred to our partners in COCOM are normally issued within five working days once the documentation is complete. Applications which are referred to COCOM take at least 75 working days.