Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether UK Export Finance (UKEF) has taken steps to ensure that companies operating from the UK which gain support from UKEF support pay do not use artifical tax structures to avoid paying their fair share in the UK.

UK Export Finance’s statutory function is to support UK exports, principally by providing guarantees to banks in relation to UK exports, and insurance policies to exporters against the financial risk of exporting. It has no powers to investigate the tax affairs of the exporters it supports and no regulatory remit. However, it undertakes due diligence in respect of the financial and legal risks associated with all the export transactions it is asked to support.