HC Deb 31 March 1994 vol 240 cc1002-3W
Mr. Janner

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many, and what percentage of officers in each of grades 1 to 7 and overall in his Department are(a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities or (c) disabled, respectively.

Mr. Eggar

The figures for the Department, including its executive agencies, as at 4 January 1994 are:

financial soundness of companies chosen to fulfil contracts, pursuant to aid and trade financial support (a) before the final award of the contract, (b) during the fulfilment of the contract and (c) on completion of the contract.

Mr. Heseltine

If the DTI has concerns about the financial standing of an applicant for aid and trade provision support a check is carried out on the company's financial capability to undertake the project. This check would normally be carried out by DTI accountants when the application is still being considered, although a check could in principle be undertaken at any stage in the life of a contract if concerns arose.

Most ATP projects involve export credit support. ECGD carries out separate checks into the financial standing of companies.