HC Deb 12 March 1997 vol 292 cc260-1W
Ms Short

To ask Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list(a) the countries and other bodies which have bought arms from the United Kingdom in the last 10 years under the export credits guarantee scheme and defaulted on their payments and (b) the sums of money involved in each case. [14007]

Mr. Nelson

[pursuant to his reply 14 February 1997, c.337]I have been asked to reply. Since April 1986 the Export Credits Guarantee Department has paid the following claims on guarantees related to business with defence ministries.

£ million
Egypt 93
Venezuela 31.7
Jordan 16.9
Kenya 13.7

In addition, some business not listed was also the subject of claims payments relating to defence ministries. This information cannot be released as it could cause harm in terms of one or more of the defence, security, international relations and commercial confidence exemptions in the code of practice on access to Government information. These were the exemptions in the code referred to the statement on defence exports by my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement on 23 July 1996, Official Report, column 212.

ECGD does not distinguish specifically arms from other sales to defence ministries but a review of the records and case files indicates that arms account for less than one quarter of the total defence claims.

The figures given do not take into account recoveries of claims paid. Likewise, they do not include any claims in respect of ECGD's former short-term operations which were privatised in 1991 and for which equivalent data are not available.

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