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Strategic Export Controls

The hon. Lady gives me the opportunity to move on to cluster munitions, which I intended to do. A number of hon. Members have referred to the negotiations on the Oslo process, and whether there is clarity on alternatives to cluster munitions. The right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling asked specifically what alternatives there are. We have taken all the steps that we can so far, including taking so-called dumb cluster munitions out of service. We want to ensure that taking all cluster munitions out of service would not put our forces in harm's way. Although we are not currently using cluster munitions in Iraq or Afghanistan, such use may be necessary in other scenarios, but we are committed to trying to make progress. The negotiations on the Oslo process are serious; its purpose is to secure a ban on weapons that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. We want a good agreement that will make a genuine and lasting difference, which means an agreement that major cluster munitions users and producers will sign. We are playing a key role in those negotiations. We are seeking not loopholes, but agreement on definitions that will genuinely make what comes out of the Oslo process workable and effective. A number of Members asked whether enforcement of export controls is effective enough. The hon. Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown) referred to recent successful prosecutions. Last year, there was a prosecution for an offence of trading sub-machine-guns between Iran and Kuwait, and another for the illegal export of missile technology to Iran. One case resulted in a four-year prison sentence and the other resulted in an 18-month sentence and a fine of £430,000, which were by no means insignificant sanctions. We are considering whether or not we need to alter the balance in terms of fines, penalties, and other sanctions for breaches of the law in that area. The introduction of the new IT system has freed up some additional resources that we are using to strengthen awareness of the controls and compliance work. We continue to seek to enhance the annual and quarterly reports that we publish. This year, we aim to introduce a public, searchable database of licensing decisions. There has been an increase in usage of the electronic self-help checker tools that we provide to assist exporters in their licence applications. As the Chairman of the committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood, knows we have been reviewing the methodology for criterion 8 assessments. In terms of our country programmes, we have launched new guidance for DFID staff on how to use those criterion assessments. That will enable us to continue to develop the effectiveness of our staff in those areas. I turn now to some of the specific country issues that have been raised by hon. Members. The right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling mentioned the current arms embargo on China. We have no plans to support an immediate lifting of the embargo. He is right to note that there is no consensus in the European Union at the moment on the issue of embargo lifting. I suspect the right hon. Gentleman is aware of it, but I draw his attention to the code of conduct as well as to the embargo. The code of conduct is as important, if not more important, in terms of the effect it has on exports to China. It is an effective means of controlling those exports, particularly because it covers the high-tech defence equipment that the modern Chinese military want to acquire. I draw hon. Members' attention to the fact that some 33 applications for arms sales to China were refused last year, which is an indication of the continuing seriousness with which we take and review each individual application that comes before the export control organisation.