§ Ann ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the system of prior scrutiny of arms sales in the Swedish and US legislatures. [143746]
§ Dr. HowellsThe Government considered the export control systems of a number of countries, as part of their review of the proposals in the 1998 White Paper on Strategic Export Controls. Following the Quadripartite Committee's second report on "Strategic Export Controls: Further Report and Parliamentary Prior Scrutiny" (HC467), the Government considered the nature and scope of prior scrutiny of arms exports in Sweden arid the US. As the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr. Hain), 9W informed my hon. Friend on 21 December 2000, Official Report, column 338W, the systems in those countries are very different from ours and in each case reflect their particular circumstances.