§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what aircraft the Royal Air Force has sold to Poland in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [148115]
§ Dr. MoonieAircraft and helicopters no longer required for service by the Royal Air Force are disposed of on their behalf by the MOD's Disposal Services Agency (DSA). Disposal can be achieved in a number of ways, including sales to legitimate overseas Governments, although no such sales to Poland have been made by the DSA in the last five years.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what quantity of surplus small arms has been destroyed in each of the last two years to conform to the UN resolution covering weapons; if surplus weapons have been sold to other countries to avoid being destroyed; and if he will make a statement. [148104]
§ Dr. MoonieIn conformity with UN resolution 54/54R the United Kingdom has reported that the total number of surplus small arms it destroyed in 1999 was 31,939. The majority of these were armed forces weapons (some 28,000) with the balance from the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Metropolitan police. Comparable statistics for 2000 are not yet available. Our current policy on the disposal of small arms declared surplus by the Ministry of Defence is to restrict transfers to those which meet the legitimate defence and security needs of overseas Governments. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence to the hon. Member for South-West Devon (Mr. Streeter) on 22 June 2000,Official Report, column 242W. In the absence of approved transfers in line with this policy, surplus small arms are routinely destroyed. It is not, nor has it ever been, our policy or practice to arrange sales of surplus weapons on the ground that this would avoid their destruction.
360W