§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what military materials have been given approval for delivery to Zimbabwe in(a) 1999 and (b) 2000. [116263]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 27 March 2000]: The entry in the relevant legislation under which the export of goods is controlled is known as their rating. The Export Control Organisation's computer databases have been 195W interrogated. Between 1 January 1999 and 17 March 2000, 18 Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) and six Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs) were issued covering the export to consignees or end-users in Zimbabwe of goods subject to export control by being listed in Part III of Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994, commonly known as the Military List. Individual licences may cover a range of goods with various ratings (and OIELs may also cover a range of countries). Where this is so, the licence is included in the table in the total for all of the relevant ratings.
Individual Licences issued between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 1999 and 1 January 2000 and 17 March 2000 covering the export to Zimbabwe of goods on the Military List No. of SIELs issued covering goods with this rating No. of OIELs issued covering goods with this rating Rating 1999 2000 1999 2000 ML1 1 2 1 0 ML2 5 0 1 0 ML3 1 0 0 0 ML4 0 0 0 0 ML5 0 0 1 0 ML6 1 0 1 0 ML7 0 0 0 0 ML8 0 0 0 0 ML9 0 0 0 0 ML10 0 7 0 0 ML11 0 0 2 0 PL 5002 0 0 1 0 PL 5018 1 0 2 0 This information does not cover any Media OIELs that may have been issued during this period. Media OIELs authorise the export to all destinations of protective clothing, mainly for the protection of aid agency workers and journalists, when working in areas of conflict.
Information on export licensing decisions in 1999, including details of the military equipment licensed, will be set out in the 1999 Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls, which will be published in due course. Similar details of the military equipment licensed in later years will be set out in the relevant Annual Reports.
This information should be considered in light of the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Mr. Berry) on 27 July 1999, Official Report, columns 307-08W.
In addition, Zimbabwe is a permitted destination on certain Open General Export Licences, covering the export of goods on the Military List; copies of all Open General Export Licences valid at any time during the period are in the Library of the House.