§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) in which year a specific allocation of Export Credits Guarantee Department's cover was allocated for defence exports; what was the size of the provision; and how that decision was reported to Parliament;
(2) on what date it was agreed to allocate a sum within the Export Credits Guarantee Department for the offering of insurance cover on defence exports; what that sum was; and on what dates that sum was subsequently revised.
§ Mr. NeedhamOn 28 June 1988 the then Minister for Trade announced, in a written answer, that £1 billion of export credit support would be made available by the Export Credits Guarantee Department to support large contracts for the sale of United Kingdom defence equipment.
The sum of £1 billion was never revised and the unused balance was effectively withdrawn in August 1991.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the size of the Export Credits Guarantee Department cover for defence exports in each year since 1985–86, the take-up of the cover and the year-end total of the contribution in respect of this cover to the Export Credits Guarantee Department's cumulative reserves and provisions.
§ Mr. NeedhamECGD's annual report includes a table detailing the breakdown of its capital goods business by industry sector including defence. A copy of ECGD's last annual report is in the Library of the House, the 1992–93 report will be laid before the House late this month. ECGD's accounts are not put together on a basis which enables the contribution of different industry sectors to its cumulative reserves and provisions to be detailed separately.