UK Export Finance Contingent Liability: Jaguar Land Rover

A departmental minute is being laid before Parliament today setting out the particulars of a new contingent liability associated with Jaguar Land Rover.

It is normal practice, when a Government Department proposes to undertake a contingent liability in excess of £300,000 for which there is no specific statutory authority, for the Minister concerned to present a departmental minute to Parliament giving particulars of the liability created and explaining the circumstances; and to refrain from incurring the liability until 14 sitting days after the issue of the minute, except in cases of special urgency.

Given the particular urgency of the Jaguar Land Rover financing requirement, particularly in order to provide urgent support to members of its supply chain, it is regrettable that we were unable to provide the House with the normal period for consideration prior to the guarantee being entered into. Due to an administrative error, it is also regrettable that we were not able to provide the House with a departmental minute with the previous WMS on this matter. We are rectifying that today.

JLR requested that UKEF provides its export development guarantee product to a commercial loan for working capital of £1.5 billion, repayable over five years, to help it manage the impact of the recent cyberattack on its export business and wider operations. UKEF had existing exposure to JLR and providing this additional support fell outside UKEF’s normal underwriting criteria. If this liability is called, provision for any payment will be sought through the normal supply procedure.

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