§ Mr. MorganTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from organisations of British exporters in relation to the level of insurance cover provided for exports in traditional British markets; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Needham[holding answer 8 March 1993]: Since December 1991 the privatised successor of ECGD's Insurance Services Group has had responsibility for the provision of the short-term export credit insurance previously provided by the Export Credits Guarantee Department to United Kingdom exporters.
The new company currently sources over 90 per cent. of its reinsurance needs, for both commercial and political risk worldwide, from the private market. The ECGD currently supplements the private sector reinsurance treaties of the new company under arrangements intended to ensure that United Kingdom exporters do not suffer any reduction in export credit insurance facilities as a result of privatisation.
I believe that the effect of these reinsurance arrangements, the details of which I outlined in my reply of 22 February, to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman), Official Report, column 443, will be to maintain a good level of short-term export credit insurance support for United Kingdom exporters.
Representations have been made to me by interested parties about the likely adequacy of the reinsurance market to meet future demand and the implications this may have for Government policy. I am considering these representations.
Representations have also been received about ECGD's support for projects business. I am therefore pleased to be able to refer the hon. Gentleman to the Budget statement in which it was announced that additional export credit cover of £1,300 million is to be made available over the next three years to help United Kingdom companies win business in a number of important markets. Additionally for 1993–94 the premium paid by exporters for such business will be cut by 7.5 per cent. on average in ECGD's top 20 business markets.