§ Mr. WilkinsonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many export licences were granted to British exporters in the twelve month periods(a) before 2 May 1997 and (b) after 2 May 1997. [47567]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 25 June 1998]: Statistics on decisions on export licences issued and refused for the second half of 1996 were placed in the Library of the House on 25 March 1998. Such statistics for the period 1 January to 1 May 1997 will be placed in the Library of the House soon. The Government are committed to report annually on the state of strategic export controls and their application since 2 May 1997, and I refer to the answer given by the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central (Mr. Lloyd) to the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) on 12 May 1998, Official Report, column 110.
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§ Mr. WilkinsonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the effect of the EU Code on Arms Exports on her Department's issue of export licences to British companies. [47568]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 25 June 1998]: Licences to export arms and other goods where export is controlled for strategic reasons are issued by the President of the Board of Trade, and the Export Control Organisation of the Department of Trade & Industry is the licensing authority. All relevant individual licence applications are circulated by the DTI to other Government Departments with an interest, as determined by them in line with their policy responsibilities. These include the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence, and the Department for International Development. The EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports was formally adopted by the General Affairs Council on 8 June. Its provisions will be taken into account in export licensing decisions, as well as the export licence assessment criteria announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on 28 July 1997, Official Report, columns 26–29. Under the Code, each Member State will circulate in confidence an annual report on its defence exports and on its implementation of the Code. Member States will discuss these reports and review the Code's operation.