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Arms Export Controls

I know that concerns are expressed by NGOs about the potential scope of the arms trade treaty. The position of the UK Government is that we want a treaty that has high standards and we will continue to push that as a policy. We certainly do not want to give up on what we believe is an important process. We will maintain a high level of ambition in the discussions that have been taking place, and will continue to take place, on the issue. My hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood also raised the issue of a register or pre-licensing registration system. As he will be aware, the Government are not opposed to a register in principle. The hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) suggested—I think that he has done so twice now—that we have kicked that issue into the long grass. No, we have not. In practice, we already have a register of traders. We have a comprehensive database and can use it at any time to show who is using trade control licences. We can use that information to direct our awareness-raising or compliance-visiting activity. What we do not have is a pre-licensing registration system under which traders must be vetted before they can be registered. The ECO considered the issue closely and concluded that at this stage, the time is not right to introduce a full registration system. We are happy to consider the issue again once we see how well the initiatives that we are currently pursuing—such as clamping down on those who misuse open licences and focusing our awareness activity on traders—work in practice. It is right that we take time properly to assess the effect of those new initiatives, particularly bearing it in mind that we would be talking about a regulatory burden in introducing a pre-licensing registration scheme.