Mr. O'NeillTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the financial effect on his equipment procurement budget of the export of British defence equipment.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkWhere the export of British defence equipment enables United Kingdom companies to spread the cost of their overheads, it reduces the cost of equipment to my Department. However, it is not possible accurately to quantify this effect. In addition, the 391W Department benefits from receipts from commercial exploitation levies paid on exports of defence equipment whose development the Department funded.
Mr. O'NeillTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will now change his policy regarding the release of information on the export of non-lethal British defence equipment to(a) Iraq and (b) the rest of the world.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkI see no reason to do so.