§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what recent discussions her Department has had with the Department of Trade and Industry on reforming the Export Credits Guarantee Scheme; [126361]
(2) what plans she has to reform the Export Credits Guarantee Scheme. [127184]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Department is continually engaged in detailed discussions with the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD)—the Department responsible for export credits—with a view to ensuring that the provision of export credits takes full account of sustainability considerations. Discussions take place at both official and ministerial levels.
Recent discussions between Defra and ECGD have focused on:
revisions to ECGD's Case Impact Analysis Process, including agreement that in future, ECGD would normally expect to disclose details of High Potential Impact cases at least 60 days prior to making a decision on whether to provide support;the UK's approach to the forthcoming review of the OECD agreement on Common Approaches on the Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits;an initiative to seek improved terms of support for renewable energy projects through discussions in the OECD; anddetailed analysis of applications for support which are currently being assessed under ECGD's Sensitive Case procedure—in particular the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline project and the Sakhalin oil and natural gas project.Defra will continue to work closely with ECGD on these and other issues to ensure that the principles of sustainable development are reflected fully in the policies and operations of that Department.