§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution in terms of research finances and personnel has been made by his Department's arms control unit into the outstanding verification problems, within the disarmament regimes of(a) chemical, biological or toxic warfare agents, (b) cruise missiles, (c) nuclear warhead testing, (d) the safeguarding of military grade nuclear materials from misuse and (e) ballistic missile exports and testing.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe defence arms control unit, in consultation with a number of other divisions in the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, keeps all aspects of arms control, including 655W verification, under review. The Department does not, however, record the time spent by personnel on individual arms control issues in the way that the hon. Member requests. Although no research finance is currently devoted specifically to arms control verification by the Department, we do maintain close contact with academics both in the United Kingdom and internationally who are engaged on research in this field.