§ Mr. CryerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to invite a representative from(a) the Verification Technology Information Centre, (b) the British-American Security Information Council, (c) the Defence Fax Organisation and (d) the European Proliferation Information Centre to participate in the next meeting of his ad hoc Advisory Panel on Arms Control and Disarmament.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe Verification Technology Information Centre and the European Proliferation Information Centre receive invitations to attend the Minister of State's bi-annual meetings with nongovernmental organisations interested in arms control and disarmament issues. These meetings have superseded for NGOs the Advisory Panel on Arms Control and Disarmament, which has been in abeyance since 1987. There has been no recent contact with the British-American Security Information Council and none with the Defence Fax Organisation.
§ Mr. CryerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his ad hoc Advisory Panel on Arms Control and Disarmament last met; what subjects were discussed; and which individuals and organisations participated.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe Minister of State's Advisory Panel on Arms Control and Disarmament last met on 30 April 1987. The subjects discussed were as follows: the public presentation of the Government's arms control and defence policies, the prospects for an INF agreement, United Kingdom arms sales, the East-West balance in conventional and chemical forces, nuclear deterrence and arms control, prospects for a chemical weapons convention, and public perceptions of the various areas of arms control. Those participating included academics, religious leaders, journalists, and members of NGOs involved with arms control and disarmament issues.
Since then, a series of briefing and discussion meetings for non-governmental organisations interested in arms control has been held at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which I have chaired.