§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 25 May, Official Report, column 676, if copies of contracts and purchase orders are supplied in every case of military list exports to overseas Governments; and from which date contracts and purchase orders have been insisted upon in every case. [29761]
§ Mr. Ian TaylorThe guidance notes on completing an export licence application state that details of contracts or purchase orders are required in support of all export license applications for military list exports to overseas governments. In the past it was not insisted upon in every case: to establish the practice operated at earlier dates would involve disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade in what circumstances copies of contracts or purchase orders from Government Departments of military list export destination countries were not supplied to the export licensing unit in the case of arms contracts with governments; and, in the case of Jordan, the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia, for what reasons such exceptions were allowed. [27341]
§ Mr. Ian TaylorIt is not possible to establish from my Department's records the circumstances in which, in operating the procedure described in my answerOfficial Report, 15 May 1995, column 21, licensing officers decided that particular types of supporting material were not required in particular cases. The statement by the right hon. Friend the Member for Henley (Mr. Heseltine) on 13 June 1995 referred to a sample taken of licence applications to discover what percentage did not have supporting documentation and for no other purpose. It is not the present practice to allow any exception to the requirements to provide the necessary documents in support of applications for export licences for sales of military equipment to Governments.
§ Mr. ByersTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many export licences for goods on the military list were granted to Royal Ordnance in 1985 and 1986; and how many did not have full supporting documentation.[35338]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 18 July 1995]: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.