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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Arms Exports
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many arms export licences for armoured vehicles, aircraft and naval vessels have been granted by the Department since 2001; and what their value was. [121139]
Nigel Griffiths: The details of all export licences are published by destination in the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls. A copy of the 2001 Annual Report is available from the Libraries of the House. The 2002 Annual Report will be published shortly.
It would entail disproportionate cost to establish the number of export licences for armoured vehicles, aircraft and naval vessels that have been granted since 2001.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action can be taken by the Department against the purchasers of UK arms exports if the arms are used in undesirable circumstances. [121142]
Nigel Griffiths: The Government refuse export licence applications where there is a clear risk that the goods will be used in contravention of the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. The surest way of preventing diversion or misuse is by a thorough risk assessment at the licensing stage, where all information available at the time can be considered including the end user's track record, before the goods are exported.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to which African countries her Department has granted export licences for arms in the last six months. [121272]
Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 23 June 2003]: Between 1 January 2003 and 17 June 2003 the Department of Trade and Industry's Export Control
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Organisation granted export licences, covering the export of items on the Military List to the following African countries:
- Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Chad
Djibouti
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Kenya
Malawi
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Nambia
Niger
Nigeria
Senegal
South Africa
Tanzania
Tunisia.
Company Insolvency
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her plans for reform of the framework for company insolvency in cases where a service provider on a contingent fee basis has ceased trading because it is insolvent. [121286]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The corporate insolvency provisions of Part 10 of the Enterprise Act 2002 are likely to be brought into force at some point during September 2003, but there are no plans for further reform of the legislative framework relating to company insolvency.
Departmental Ministers
Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Ministers there were in her Department in each year since 1996. [120988]
Ms Hewitt: Including the Secretary of State, the number of Ministers in my Department since 1996 were as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 24 July 1996 to 5 May 1997 | 7 |
| 6 June 1997 to 27 July 1998 | (15)7 |
| 28 July 1998 to 22 December 1998 | (15)8 |
| 23 December 1998 to 4 January 1999 | (15)8 |
| 5 January 1999 to 28 July 1999 | 8 |
| 29 July 1999 to 10 June 2001 | 7 |
| 11 June 2001 to 28 May 2002 | 8 |
| 29 May 2002 to 12 June 2003 | (16)8 |
| 13 June 2003 to date | (16)7 |
(15) One Minister shared with the Treasury.
(16) One Minister shared with the Foreign Office.
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Developing Countries
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will propose (a) restrictions on the size of the delegations of rich countries to the WTO and GATS meetings, (b) that the money saved be passed directly to countries which cannot afford to send delegations to these meetings and (c) that the voting at these meetings be proportional to the size of the populations they represent. [120405]
Ms Hewitt: The Government believe that it is important that all WTO Members are able to participate effectively in WTO negotiations. We are therefore working to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to participate in the WTO and in the international trading system. In doing so, we are helping developing countries and development agencies to build trade policy capacity in both national capitals and in Geneva, where many of the least-developed country Members of the WTO still have no permanent representation. Since 1997, we have committed £45 million to trade-related technical assistance and capacity building.
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WTO meetings generally operate on a consensus basis, with agreement reached only when all WTO Members are content with the outcome. As a result, occasions for formal voting are rare but, when they do occur, take place on the basis of one member, one vote, regardless either of the size of countries' populations or of their economic power within the international trading system.
ECGD
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total outstanding debt owed to the ECGD is, broken down by country. [119835]
Ms Hewitt: The total outstanding debt as at 31 May 2003 in respect of ECGD guaranteed business, broken down by country of obligor, is detailed in the following table. The total is further broken down between Amounts at Risk (payments of principal and interest which have yet to fall due), unrecovered claims (whether rescheduled or not) and moratorium interest accrued on the unrecovered claims.
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