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Strategic Export Controls

I welcome the opportunity to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Mr. Williams. I join other hon. Members in taking this opportunity to celebrate the work of the Committees on strategic export controls. I commend committee members generally and my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Roger Berry) in particular for chairing the committee. No Minister who has had the privilege of appearing before the committee has dared take such an appearance lightly. I am sure that hon. Members think that that is entirely appropriate. I am responding to this debate in the absence of my colleague the Minister for Energy, who has immediate responsibility for this issue but who is unable to attend today. I hope to do justice to the many questions asked and comments made by hon. Members. Let me begin with some context. The Government are committed to maintaining a strong defence industry as part of our industrial base. The industry is important not only because of the jobs that it directly creates, but because of the many jobs that are reliant on it and because of the spin-offs to other parts of the economy generated by a strong defence industry. We have a world-class defence sector. We are the second largest exporter of defence equipment in the world, with exports close to £10 billion last year. As all hon. Members have rightly mentioned, there are occasions when the industry is particularly controversial. In a debate such as this, however, we should also celebrate the fact that, actually, the defence industry—particularly the UK defence industry—can be a significant force for good. The key is ensuring that export controls in this country strike the right balance. Defence exports can contribute to international stability, help strengthen collective defence relationships and contribute to important humanitarian work, which is why last year we approved some 15 licences for exports to equip and support, for example, United Nations peacekeepers operating in a number of difficult settings around the world. We need to get that balance right in terms of the way in which our defence sector operates. That is why we refused a series of licences because of human rights concerns in a number of countries. I will return to the specific countries that hon. Members have mentioned. As hon. Members have acknowledged, we have one of the best-regulated defence industries. Our controls are acknowledged as being among the most rigorous in the world. However, not content with the improved regulation of our defence sector, we are taking the lead on the introduction of an international arms trade treaty. There is now wide support for the principle of an arms trade treaty, but there is still substantial work to be done on agreeing what should be in such a treaty. Given the expertise in the Chamber today, I am sure that all hon. Members will recognise the considerable complexity of the discussions that are under way about what such a treaty should contain. We want an arms trade treaty to help set global standards for the arms trade to ensure respect for human rights, international humanitarian law, sustainable development and good governance, at the same time as allowing states to participate in the arms trade. It is worth mentioning that our country has been an important supporter of the UN programme of action on small arms and light weapons. My hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood has rightly pointed out that the trade in small arms and light weapons is the part of the arms trade that does most damage in facilitating the abuse of human rights, causing instability and preventing development. That programme of action commits all UN member states to controlling small arms through better export control, improving the way in which stockpiles of weapons are managed and taking measures to take weapons out of circulation. That programme of action is particularly important in countries affected by conflict and violence. The UK has provided more than £31 million to help states implement those commitments under the UN programme of action. For example, we have funded the Nairobi-based Regional Center on Small Arms, which has helped to strengthen controls in east Africa. We have also supported Viva Rio, a non-governmental organisation that has helped collect and destroy some 600,000 weapons in Brazil and that provides young gang members with alternatives to violence. The UN programme of action is scheduled for review again this summer. We will encourage UN member states to use the opportunity of that review to step up efforts to help those states most seriously affected by gun violence. Throughout last year, we took steps to improve further how we operate the licensing arrangements. Hon. Members, particularly members of the Committees, will be aware that we introduced a new IT system last September that allows applications to be issued and processed online. Perhaps most importantly, in terms of today's debate and the points raised by hon. Members, we also began the review of export control legislation. On that review, we need to ensure that export controls are having the intended effect and that there are not disproportionate burdens on business. We need to recognise, in terms of how trade is conducted, that we live in a rapidly changing world. That is why the public consultation document included a wide range of options on further change and sought evidence and views from respondents generally and, in particular, from experts in the sector. We received 23 substantive submissions from a range of groups, including NGOs and industry, and more than 5,000 letters and e-mails touching on a range of individual points. As my hon. Friend has set out, the Government's initial response to that consultation was published on 6 February, and in it we committed to introducing change in areas of concern to the committee. Notably, as the Prime Minister announced in November, we committed to extending export laws to control brokering and trafficking of small arms by UK persons anywhere in the world and extending the controls on man-portable air defence systems and certain cluster munitions to UK persons anywhere in the world. As my hon. Friend has said, that commitment will add sting sticks to UK-listed torture equipment. We will also seek to start European Union negotiations to introduce a new torture end-use control. That is a significant package, as my hon. Friend has acknowledged, and it will lead to significant enhancements in our controls in areas where there have been concerns in the past. My hon. Friend asked specifically when we would publish our conclusive response to the consultation. I understand why he asked that, but I hope he understands that I cannot give him a definite date. We are still working through various responses and thinking through a number of highly complex issues, but clearly we want to make progress as soon as we can. My hon. Friend asked specifically whether, if we are unable to secure a European Union ban, we would consider a national control. Of course, we would consider a national control but, as he acknowledged, an EU-wide measure would be by far the most preferable outcome, which is why we will have serious negotiations with fellow member states. Nevertheless, we will keep in reserve the question whether we must introduce our own national measure. It would not be as good as an EU-wide measure, but we would consider it. My hon. Friend asked specifically about criterion 8, and we will send the final version to the committee. He also asked about publication more generally of criterion 8. He will remember our discussion, when I appeared before the committee and indicated a number of our concerns about publication. Nevertheless, we are considering whether publication of criterion 8 would be appropriate. I cannot give a definite date by which cross-Government internal discussions will be concluded, but we are seeking to reach a decision shortly. Other points that Members raised about further controls that may or may not be incorporated into export control legislation are more complex.