How we make decisions

ECGD rarely makes new policy: it exists to form contracts of insurance and guarantee and similar instruments. Major policy proposals or decisions would normally be the subject of public consultation under its Business Principles (PDF 16 KB). All Public Consultation documents can be found here.

A broad description of ECGD’s process for handling applications for its support is to be found in ECGD's Case Handling Process – Information Note (PDF 39 KB).

ECGD’s Business Principles give guidelines in a number of areas regarding decisions about cases (“operational decisions”). Particular areas relate to guidelines regarding bribery and corruption and care of the environment. The more detailed process of analysis applied to social and environmental aspects of operational decisions is set out in the Case Impact Analysis Process (“CIAP”).

ECGD has a committee structure for advising on operational decision-making.  Committees, rather than individuals, advise the decision-taker, who may be the Accounting Officer or a delegatee from the Accounting Officer. The most senior Committee is the Executive Committee.  

The matters considered in committee in ECGD are frequently highly sensitive in a number of respects, including relations with Foreign States, the commercial interests of the Exchequer and taxpayer arising from the contracts which ECGD enters into and the confidentiality of information, release of which would damage the interests of British exporters with whom ECGD enters into contractual relations.

ECGD is alert to its obligations under the Act owed to members of the public, particularly as taxpayers might have to fund, in the first instance, sums which ECGD might be called upon to pay under the contracts it enters into. ECGD is equally alive to the danger that those commercial interests of the Exchequer and taxpayers might be damaged by inappropriate publication; and to the legitimate commercial confidentiality of British exporters.

ECGD will routinely place on this website a Note of both Executive Committee and Management Board meetings which will give information which is not private to the meeting relating both to the papers put to the Committee in question and the Committee’s decisions.