§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimates she has made of the number of UK jobs within the defence industry that depend on export credit guarantees; and if she will make a statement.[90337]
§ Ms HewittThe number of jobs in the defence sector that are created, secured or sustained as a result of export credit guarantees is difficult to estimate as the amount of ECGD support for particular industry sectors can vary widely from year to year. In UK Defence Statistics 2002 the Defence Analytical Services Agency estimates that total UK defence exports, only some of which have ECGD support—have on average supported around 100,000 jobs in the defence industry over the last five years.