§ 6. Mr. Ian TaylorWhen he will publish the first annual report on UK strategic exports. [11739]
§ Mr. SpellarThe content and timing of the publication of the first annual report on the state of strategic export controls and their application is currently under discussion between the Departments concerned. An announcement will be made in due course.
May I, Madam Speaker, take this opportunity to withdraw unreservedly remarks I made about the hon. Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) during the defence policy debate last week when responding to his point about delays in the issuing of defence export licences? I very much regret that I was misinformed about representations my Department had received on this matter. I have, of course, already written to the hon. Gentleman to apologise, but I wanted to take the earliest opportunity to correct my inadvertent error on the Floor of the House.
§ Mr. TaylorOn behalf of my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key), I thank the Minister for his personal statement and clarification, which the House will welcome. We are grateful to him. Nevertheless, will he clarify for the benefit of the Defence Manufacturers Association why there is such a delay in the granting of export licences? Export orders are massively important for British business and I should be grateful if the Minister would confirm just how important the defence industry is to British export performance.
§ Mr. SpellarThe defence industry is a substantial exporter, which is why we stressed its importance so 8 much in our election manifesto and why we are holding regular meetings with defence manufacturers. Some of the delays have inevitably arisen because of the Government's review of the criteria to be considered when issuing licences for the export of conventional arms. My Department has provided staff to other Departments involved in the licensing process to assist in clearing the backlog. Our aim is to ensure that the system is sufficiently flexible to deal with urgent cases. Officials are well aware that undue delay in the clearance of licence applications could result in lost orders or, equally important, in damage to our reputation as a reliable supplier.
§ Mr. Barry JonesDoes my hon. Friend agree that previous Governments did not invest sufficiently in research and development to enhance strategic exports? What plans have our Government to invest in this vital sphere?
§ Mr. SpellarMy hon. Friend is well aware from previous answers that we are examining the interchange between the civil and defence sectors in defence manufacturing and the interchange of research that that involves. We are also considering much wider dissemination of the work undertaken by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. We understand that much of the benefit that we are now deriving stems from previous research and we appreciate the need for future research to sustain our industry.
§ Sir George YoungThe House will have heard and welcomed the Minister's apology for his unwarranted attack on my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key)—no doubt that particular weapons system will not be deployed again from the Government Front Bench. In view of the implications for jobs and, indeed, for foreign exchange, is the Minister able to give the House a date by which the Government will have reached the previous Government's target for processing export licences?
§ Mr. SpellarAs I told the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Mr. Taylor), we are working with other Departments and taking up the matter with them urgently to ensure that there are no undue delays—we are seized of the potential difficulties, which I outlined, if we are not able to improve matters. We certainly take the issue seriously and are taking action on it.