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3 Jun 2003 : Column 329W—continued
Export Credits Guarantee Department
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was paid in commission covered by the ECGD on the sale of Hawk jets to South Africa; what percentage of the contract the commission represented; and where the place was to which payment was made. [113943]
Ms Hewitt: ECGD's application process requires certain details of agents' commission to be disclosed to ECGD in order that it can follow its due diligence procedures. In this case such due diligence procedures were followed and no irregularities were detected. For reasons of commercial confidentiality specific details of the commission paid cannot be revealed.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of projects covered by the ECGD since September 2001 have proceeded on time and within cost. [113945]
Ms Hewitt: For projects where the cover has been made available since September 2001, ECGD understands all are so far proceeding within the original cost. About 8 per cent. have required a time extension.
It is not unusual for the complex projects which ECGD supports to depart from the original timetable envisaged in the contract. Cost overruns or contractual delays are matters primarily to be resolved between the contractual parties though ECGD may, as a result of such resolution, be asked to amend the terms of its support. ECGD does not, therefore, monitor this aspect across the whole range of its portfolio. However, ECGD does require notification of any such changes on individual cases, which might possibly affect the risk.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many projects have been subject to post-issue monitoring by the ECGD's Guarantee Mangement Branch since September 2001. [113946]
Ms Hewitt: Since its establishment, the Branch has carried out post issue monitoring on about 200 project cases.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times the ECGD has refused cover because of (a) allegations, (b) suspicions and (c) evidence of corruption in the last five years. [113947]
Ms Hewitt: ECGD's procedures are designed to alert applicants to the seriousness of our commitment to combat bribery and corruption. There have been no
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occasions in the last five years where cover has had to be refused by ECGD due to allegations, suspicions or evidence of corruption.
However we continue to maintain our vigilance over the life of all cases.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) visits to exporters and (b) site visits the ECGD's Internal Audit and Assurance Department made in each of the last five years. [113948]
Ms Hewitt: In the last five years ECGD's Internal Audit and Assurance Division has made 49 visits to exporters. The aim has been to review approximately 10 cases each year. This has also involved two project site visits overseas and a number of visits to manufacturing plants.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many companies accounts have been examined by the ECGD's Internal Audit and Assurance Department in the last five years. [113949]
Ms Hewitt: ECGD's Internal Audit and Assurance Division does not examine company accounts. The department has a Financial Analysis Unit, which is responsible for analysis of company accounts and assessing bank and corporate risk. This unit has assessed over 2,000 company accounts, mostly of overseas enterprises, in the last five years.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how may staff there are in the ECGD's Internal Audit and Assurance Department; and how many there were in 1997. [113950]
Ms Hewitt: There were nine members of staff in the Internal Audit and Assurance Division in 1997. In recognition of the need for additional specialist knowledge and skills, the Internal Audit service is now provided by a combination of 6.5 members of staff and a contract with an external service provider.
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she last discussed the Export Credits Guarantee Department with the Secretary of State for International Development; and if she will make a statement. [115033]
Ms Hewitt: DTI and ECGD officials are in regular contact with those of the Secretary of State for International Development on a range of issues of mutual interest relating to the Export Credits Guarantee Department.
I last discussed ECGD with the then Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Ladywood (Clare Short) during a meeting on 10 July 2002.
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will publish the (a) minutes and (b) papers of the Advisory Council on the Export Credits Guarantee. [115051]
Ms Hewitt: Information about The Export Guarantees Advisory Council can be found in the public information section of the ECGD website, www.ecgd.gov.uk. This includes the minutes of previous meetings, and a list of members and their declared interests.
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It is often not possible to publish individual papers due to the contents being 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". However, the Council often discusses papers that are subsequently published, for example the "Report on the Comparison of Export Credit Agencies", and the report by NERA on "Estimating the costs and benefits of ECGD".
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her policy is on publishing environmental assessments created as a result of the procedures of the Export Credits Guarantee Department. [115052]
Ms Hewitt: ECGD's policy on publishing environmental assessments varies depending on the circumstances. Where ECGD has commissioned an environmental assessment its preparation would involve the participation of affected communities and the final version would be published.
If ECGD requires an environmental assessment to be commissioned by an exporter or project sponsor it would again expect the report to be published. Occasionally environmental assessments commissioned by a third party are not published and ECGD may have no legal right to publish them. Under these circumstances the Department would consider commissioning an independent review of the environmental assessment and this review would be published.
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many officials work in the Export Credits Guarantee Department; and if she will list their (a) term of office and (b) fields of expertise. [115053]
Ms Hewitt: ECGD currently employs 397 staff, approximately 98 per cent of which are employed on permanent contracts. The remainder are on fixed term or casual contracts.
Their fields of expertise include underwriting, financial policy and accounting, economic analysis, business principles, international relations, communications, legal matters, customer relations, guarantee management and recoveries, international debt, and others deemed necessary in the running of an Export Credit Agency.
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what projects submitted to the Export Credits Guarantee Department have been (a) rejected and (b) modified following adverse findings in each year since the introduction of new procedures in 1999. [115054]
Ms Hewitt: The information is as follows:
(a) Since 1999 three projects have been rejected for sustainable development reasons, all on the grounds that they did not represent productive expenditure. One was a transport project in Asia and the other two were construction projects, one in Asia and one in Central America.
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(b) ECGD's Impact Questionnaire guidance notes set out the guidelines and standards that the Department expects projects to comply with. All projects have met or exceeded these requirements at the application stage. In the case of one project to date for which a guarantee has been issued, ECGD initiated significant improvements to the design and implementation.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the debt owed to the To ECGD by (a) Nigeria, (b) Indonesia, (c) The Philippines, (d) Angola, (e) Kenya, (f) Democratic Republic of Congo and (g) Republic of Congo; and if she will list (i) the projects and goods involved for each country's debt and (ii) the date on which the debts for each country was first incurred. [115102]
Ms Hewitt: This question cannot be answered in full except at disproportionate cost.
The debts owed to ECGD by these countries under Debt Rescheduling Agreements result, with the exception of Indonesia and Kenya, from contracts mostly entered into in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The number of companies insured was 859 and the number of claims paid in excess of 120,000. The goods exported ranged from consumer products to power projects and covered most of the UK's industrial sectors. The dates prior to which contracts had to be signed to be eligible for rescheduling together with the amounts outstanding under debt rescheduling agreements as at 31 March 2003 are as follows:
| Country | Amount Owed (£) | Eligible Contract Date |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 4,490,200,000 | Pre 1 October 1983 |
| Indonesia | 744,807,000 | Pre 1 July 1997 |
| Philippines | 12,738,000 | Pre 1 April 1984 |
| Angola | 135,346,000 | Pre 31 December 1986 |
| Kenya | 18,859,000 | Pre 21 December 1991 |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 84,848,000 | Pre 1 January 1976 |
| Republic of Congo | 159,842 | Pre 1 January 1986 |
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the members of her Advisory Council on the Export Credits Guarantee Department, their terms of office and their qualifications for membership. [115050]
Ms Hewitt: Information about the Export Guarantees Advisory Council can be found in the Public Information section of the ECGD website (wwvv.ecgd.gov.uk), including a list of members and their declared interests.
- Chairman: Liz Airey—(Director, Harrison Lovegrove Co Ltd.)
John Armitt—(Chief Executive Officer of Railtrack plc)
John Elkington—(Chairman, SustainAbility Ltd.)
Professor Jonathan Kydd—(Professor of Agricultural Development Economics, Imperial College)
David McLachlan—(Former Director of Group Credit Risk, Nat West Group)
Professor Kate Phylaktis—(Professor of International Finance, City University Business School)
Martin Roberts—(Former Director, Insurance Firms Division, Financial Services Authority)
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Anthony Shepherd—(Chairman, The Alderley Group)
Dr. Raj Thamotheram—(Senior Advisor, Universities Superannuation Scheme)
Sir Stephen Brown—(Chief Executive, British Trade International)
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