§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library copies of the reports which have been produced by the Export Credits Guarantee Department since 1 January 2000 to report its progress towards achieving the key performance targets set out in the Service Delivery Agreement. [146658]
§ Mr. CabornThe Service Delivery Agreement for ECGD is effective from 1 April 2001. The Service Delivery Agreement was published on ECGD's website "www.ecgd.gov.uk" on the 3 November 2000. Progress against targets will be published and made available to the House in the Expenditure Plans Report.
745W
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library copies of the minutes and agendas of the meetings of the Audit Committee of the Export Credits Guarantee Department since 1 January 2000. [146651]
§ Mr. CabornIt is not intended that the minutes and agendas of the meetings of the Export Credits Guarantee Department's Audit Committee should be published. The information requested would be classed as
information whose disclosure would harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion,under Part II exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. The minutes of the meetings of the Export Guarantees Advisory Council, whose role and membership were reformed as a result of the recent review of ECGD's Mission and Status, will, however, be placed on ECGD's website www.ecgd.gov.uk.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library(a) a list of papers which have been presented to the Export Guarantees Advisory Council of the Export Credits Guarantee Department and (b) the minutes and agendas of the Council, since 1 July 1999. [146660]
§ Mr. CabornThe minutes of meetings of the Export Guarantees Advisory Council (EGAC), whose role and membership were reformed as a result of the recent Review of ECGD's Mission and Status, will be placed on ECGD's website www.ecgd.gov.uk. The first such minute relating to the meeting on 12 December 2000 will be placed on the website shortly. Prior to the reform of the Council, records of meetings and details of the items discussed were not published as the EGAC considered issues, which involved commercial confidentiality.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place details of the Export Credits Guarantee Department cover made available to Mivan Ltd. and Kier International to construct low cost housing and provide water services to villages in Romania in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [147062]
§ Mr. CabornI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Murphy) on 6 April 2000,Official Report, column 533W.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the dates of the meetings of the Export Guarantees Advisory Council of the Export Credits Guarantee Department since 1 January 2000. [146659]
§ Mr. CabornMeetings of the Export Guarantees Advisory Council since 1 January 2000 were held on the following dates
2000
- 19 January
- 16 February
- 22 March
- 19 April
- 17 May
- 21 June
- 18 July
- August—no meeting
746W - 20 September
- 18 October
- 15 November
- 12 December.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Export Credits Guarantee Department first produced its publication "ECGD News". [146656]
§ Mr. Caborn1 July 1998.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the outside directors who have been appointed to the Management Board of the Export Credits Guarantee Department since 25 July 2000; what the functions are of outside directors on the Board; what the financial interests are of each of these outside directors; by what means members of the public can ascertain the financial interests of these outside directors; and if he will list the committees within the Export Credits Guarantee Department on which each of these outside directors sit. [146652]
§ Mr. CabornThe process of identifying and selecting suitable outside directors for ECGD's Management Board is still under way and no appointments have yet been made.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent version of the Project Underwriting Handbook produced by the ECGD. [146657]
§ Mr. CabornECGD's Project Underwriting Handbook contains detailed guidance for its officials on the terms and conditions on which they are authorised to negotiate with exporters, their banks and overseas buyers and borrowers and subsequently underwrite support for export contracts while at the same time best safeguarding the interests of the taxpayer. Disclosure of such detailed guidance could prejudice the conduct of commercial negotiations and the competitive position of ECGD and hence is exempt from disclosure under exemption 7 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Accordingly I do not intend to place the handbook in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library(a) copies of the minutes and agendas of the meetings of the Management Board of the Export Credits Guarantee Department and (b) a list of the papers submitted to such meetings since 1 January 2000. [146650]
§ Mr. CabornThe Government do not intend to publish the agenda or minutes of meetings of the Export Credits Guarantee Department's Management Board or a list of the papers discussed. The information requested would be classed as
information whose disclosure would harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion,under Part II exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.