§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the occasions since 1979 when Ministers have issued written instructions to override his Department's accounting officer's objections.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 24 February 1994]: From records currently available there have been no such occasions in the Department of Trade and Industry, but formal directions have been issued to ECGD on three occasions, all of which have been reported to Parliament —Official Report, 8 July 1981, columns 125–26; 16 October 1990, columns 771–72, and 30 June 1993, column 511.