§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of export licences are processed by his Department(a) in less than two weeks, (b) from two weeks to one month and (c) longer than two months; and what representations he has received over delays in processing. [39263]
§ Mr. NelsonThe code of practice of the Export Control Organisation commits the ECO to aim to process licence applications within certain time scales.
Where an application has to be sent to other Departments for advice, to achieve completion within 20 working days ("circulated cases");Where the application does not have to be circulated, to achieve completion within 10 working days ("non-circulated cases").These targets are based on the exporter having supplied all the necessary information in support of the application, the details of which are readily available both in the ECO's notes for guidance and other awareness material. Statistics are kept to monitor performance against these targets. The compilation of other, ad hoc, statistics would involve a search of individual licence records which would divert valuable resources away from the essential task of processing export licence applications.
Performance against the targets in the last three years are as follows:
Circulate Cases Percentage Non-circulated cases Percentage 1992 67 68 1993 61 56 1994 68 69 However, the performance in respect of cases requiring consultation with other Departments—about three-quarters of the total—has fallen in recent months, dropping to an average of 49 per cent. Ministers and senior officials have received some representations from exporters on the matter, both directly and via hon. Members. There have been a number of reasons. The discovery of circumstances where export controls seem to have failed in the past has sharpened even further the need to ensure that such controls are properly enforced. The staff in the licensing units have been reminded that while industry can expect that applications are dealt with expeditiously, there remains a need to ensure that all export licence applications are properly supported by the necessary documentation and other information. Many delays are caused by proper documentation not having been provided. In parallel with this, long-planned introduction of improved system and procedures designed, among other things, to ensure proper rigour in the consideration of applications, has tended to lengthen the process.
I am mindful of the need to process applications as expeditiously and thoroughly as possible. Every effort is being made to do so.
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