§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list(a) each of the types of weapons of mass destruction that exist in the world and (b) the countries which possess them; and how many weapons are held by each country. [154283]
§ Mr. HoonThere is no universally accepted definition of the phrase "weapons of mass destruction", but it is generally held to refer to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
Under the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, China and Russia are recognised as nuclear weapon states, as defined in Article 9(3) of the Treaty. Additionally, India and Pakistan have tested nuclear devices. As set out in the Strategic Defence Review 1998, the UK has fewer than 200 operationally available nuclear warheads. None of the other states have publicly confirmed the size of their nuclear weapon stockpiles.
There are five States Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) (US, Russia, India, Albania and one other State Party) that have declared possession of chemical weapons. They are currently in the process of destroying them in accordance with their obligations under the Convention. The amount of chemical weapons originally declared is 69,869 metric tonnes, of which 27,773 metric tonnes is from the US, 40,000 metric tonnes from Russia, and 2,096 metric tonnes from the other states parties.
We welcome Libya's recent announcement that it is renouncing its WMD programmes. It has acceded to the CWC and the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention. It has announced its intention to sign an Additional Protocol with the IAEA and has undertaken to act in accordance with its provisions pending ratification.
We do not yet have a complete picture of Iraq's WMD programme related activities. The Iraq Survey Group's work is by no means completed. It remains our best means of discovering the truth about Iraq's WMD programmes. We have long had concerns about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's development of WMD, especially their capability to produce and develop nuclear weapons. We are actively supporting 1643W the major diplomatic effort to try and resolve international concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. The UK remains concerned by the scope and scale of Iran's nuclear programme, and the state of its technical knowledge, which could assist in the production of both chemical and biological weapons. We are also aware of persistent reports that Syria is pursuing programmes to develop WMD and the means for their delivery.
We continue to encourage Israel to resolve international concerns about its nuclear status by acceding to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, as a non-nuclear weapons state.
1644W
£ million Local authority NRF allocation 2001–02 NRF allocation 2002–03 NRF allocation 2003–04 Main NRF allocation 2004–05 Residual NRF allocation 2004–05 Total NRF allocation (main plus residual) 2004–05 Allerdale 0.427747 0.641621 0.855494 0.855494 — 0.855494 Ashfield 0.481805 0.722708 0.963610 0.963610 — 0.963610 Barking and Dagenham 0.816364 1.224546 1.632728 1.632728 — 1.632728 Barnsley 2.722069 4.083104 5.444138 5.444138 — 5.444138 Barrow-in-Furness 0.919191 1.378787 1.838382 1.838382 — 1.838382 Birmingham 11.021744 16.532616 22.043488 22.043488 — 22.043488 Blackburn with Darwen 2.167412 3.251118 4.334824 4.334824 — 4.334824 Blackpool 1.503944 2.255916 3.007888 3.007888 — 3.007888 Bolsover 0.734416 1:101624 1.468832 1,468832 0.417624 1.886456 Bolton 2.712853 4.069280 5.425706 5.425706 — 5.425706 Bradford 4.905949 7.358924 9.811898 9.811898 — 9.811898 Brent 1.139562 1.709343 2.279124 2.279124 — 2.279124 Brighton and Hove 0.684438 1.026657 1.368876 1.368876 — 1.368876 Bristol 1:782633 2.673950 3,565266 3.565266 1.013689 4.578955 Burnley 0.636635 0.954953 1.273270 1.273270 — 1.273270 Camden 2.109335 3.164003 4.218670 4:218670 1.199468 5.418138 Coventry 2.644775 3.967163 5.289550 5.289550 — 5.289550 Croydon 0.290624 0.435936 0.581248 0.581248 — 0.581248 Derby 1.625234 2.437851 3.250468 3.250468 — 3.250468 Derwentside 0.741155 1,111733 1.482310 1.482310 0.421456 1.903766 Doncaster 4.394925 6.592388 8.789850 8.789850 — 8.789850 Dudley 0.760282 1.140423 1.520564 1.520564 — 1.520564 Ealing 0.458538 0.687807 0.917076 0.917076 — 0.917076 Easington 2.216635 3,324953 4.433270 4.433270 1.260484 5.693754 Enfield 0.929797 1. 394696 1.859594 1.859594 — 1.859594 Gateshead 2.321426 3.482139 4.642852 4.642852 — 4.642852 Great Yarmouth 0.993615 1.490423 1.987230 1.987230 — 1.987230 Greenwich 1.940726 2.911089 3.881452 3.881452 1.103589 4.985041 Hackney 5.882703 8.824055 11.765406 11.765406 3.345184 15.110590 Halton 1.964205 2.946308 3.928410 3.928410 1.116940 5.045350 Hammersmith and Fulham 0.516645 0.774968 1.033290 1.033290 — 1.033290 Haringey 2.667407 4.001111 5.334814 5.334814 1.516814 6.851628 Hartlepool 1.568759 2.353139 3.137518 3.137518 0.892071 4.029589 Hastings 0.687580 1.031370 1.375160 1.375160 — 1.375160 Hyndburn 0.646818 0.970227 1.293636 1.293636 — 1.293636 Islington 3.135010 4.702515 6.270020 6.270020 1.782715 8.052735 Kensington and Chelsea 0.540335 0.810503 1.080670 1.080670 — 1.080670 Kerrier 0.805244 1.207866 1.610488 1.610488 — 1.610488 Kingston upon Hull 3.753636 5.630454 7.507272 7.507272 2.134495 9.641767 Kirklees 1.496028 2.244042 2.992056 2.992056 — 2.992056 Knowsley 3.695469 5.543204 7.390938 7,390938 2,101419 9.492357 Lambeth 1.210843 1.816265 2.421686 2.421686 0.688542 3.110228 Leeds 4.197791 6.296687 8.395582 8.395582 — 8.395582 Leicester 4.188485 6.282728 8.376970 8.376970 — 8.376970 Lewisham 1.226253 1.839380 2.452506 2.452506 — 2.452506 Lincoln 0.200000 0.300000 0.400000 0.400000 — 0.400000 Liverpool 10.066353 15.099530 20.132706 20.132706 5.724205 25.856911 Luton 0.754933 1.132400 1.509866 1.509866 — 1.509866 Manchester 10.297541 15.446312 20.595082 20,595082 5.855669 26.450751 Mansfield 1.149321 1.723982 2.298642 2.298642 — 2.298642 Middlesbrough 2.624651 3.936977 5.249302 5:249302 1.492501 6.741803 "Newcastle upon Tyne 3.421525 5.132288 6.843050 6.843050 — 6.843050