§ Mr. ClaphamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what cross-departmental initiatives have been introduced to track arms sales by United Kingdom companies. [75385]
§ Dr. HowellsFurther to the answer given by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche) to the hon. Member on 25 March 1998,Official Report, column 142, further details on progress improving the arrangements for the sharing of export licensing information were set out in the Department of Trade and Industry's Supplementary Memorandum to the Trade and Industry Committee's inquiry on Strategic Export Controls (HC65, pages 75–76). As noted in the memorandum, in addition to sharing information on licence applications, there is also a need to share information on licences issued and applications refused, and DTI's Export Control Organisation is working with HMC&E to examine the feasibility of making such information available electronically to Customs officials who have responsibility for enforcing export controls at the point of export. While the Export Control Organisation maintains records of licence applications, it does not compile records of licensed exports.
The new electronic application form described in the Memorandum was launched on 1 March 1999.