HC Deb 23 November 1993 vol 233 c13W
Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government plan to take to work for the effective implementation of the chemical weapons convention.

Mr. Douglas Hogg

We signed the chemical weapons convention in January 1993 and play an active part in the work of the preparatory commission which is charged with setting up the future Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is working closely with the Department of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Defence and other Departments to make the preparations for the implementation of the convention in the United Kingdom. The necessary implementing legislation will be introduced when parliamentary time permits.