§ Sir Peter LloydTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how long on average it takes to obtain an export licence to export humanitarian products to Iraq; what proportion of that time is taken waiting for a decision from the UN; what was(a) the longest and (b) the shortest time taken to grant an application for such a licence in the last 12 months; what was (i) the longest and (ii) the shortest time taken by the UN in processing an application referred to them by her Department over the same 12 months; and if there is any difference between the time taken to process applications made by recognised charities and commercial concerns. [35083]
§ Mrs. RocheThe Export Control Organisation of the Department does not record the average length of time it takes to process an export licence application, and it would entail disproportionate cost to find the longest and shortest times taken in the last 12 months to process applications to export humanitarian products to Iraq.
Typically, the Department has been notified of the United Nations Sanctions Committee's decisions three to four weeks after submission, but this can vary a great deal from case to case. The Department does not compile records of the time taken between submission to the Committee of an application by the UK Mission to the United Nations and notification of its decision. The Sanctions Committee has recently completed a review designed to streamline its consideration of applications.
In processing applications, the Department makes no distinction between recognised charities and other applicants. However, where a UN aid agency, such as UNICEF or the World Health Organisation, is acting as the consignee, the agency can seek approval from the Sanctions Committee before the exporter applies for an export licence, which is likely to reduce the processing time within the Department of Trade and Industry.