§ Tony WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how the MOD Form 680 procedure functions; and how it relates to final licensing decisions; [29436]
(2) how many export licence applications were considered under the MOD Form 680 procedure in each of the past five years; and how many received a positive response; [29437]
(3) what proportion and how many of arms export licence applications approved by the Arms Working Party under the MOD Form 680 procedure were subsequently refused an export licence in each of the past five years. [29438]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 23 January 2002]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 14 January 2002, Official Report, column 57W to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner).
§ Tony BaldryTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment was given to sustainable development when the sale of the BAE Systems air-traffic control system to Tanzania was considered by the Arms Working Party under the MOD form 680 procedure. [28300]
218W
§ Mr. MoonieIn July 1997, when the assessment took place, sustainable development was not a specific factor to be taken into account when considering F680 applications, although the impact on the economy of the recipient country was. Sustainable Development was included in the EU Code of Conduct on arms exports that came into effect in June 1998. However, as the F680 application for the Air Traffic Control System for Tanzania did not include cost information it would have been difficult to take any impact related specifically to the financing of the equipment into account.
§ Tony BaldryTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the sale of the BAE Systems air-traffic control system to Tanzania was first raised with the Arms Working Party under the MOD Form 680 procedure. [28298]
§ Dr. MoonieSiemens Plessey Electronic systems (now part of Alenia Marconi Systems) first submitted an F680 application relating to the supply of radar equipment to Tanzania in February 1993. A further application was submitted in July 1997, following a change to the specification of the original requirement.
§ Tony WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the date was of the first involvement of the Department for International Development in considerations of the Tanzanian air traffic control system. [29444]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 23 January 2002]: The then Overseas Development Agency first heard of the proposal to sell air traffic control equipment to Tanzania in 1992. The Department for International Development (DFID) was first aware of an export licence application for the Tanzanian air traffic control system in 1997.
§ Tony WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment was made by the Arms Working Party under the MOD Form 680 procedure of the adequacy of the Tanzanian air traffic control system for civilian purposes; and what the conclusions were. [29442]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 23 January 2002]: I am withholding this information under Exemptions 2 and 13 (Internal discussion and advice; and third party commercial confidences respectively) of Part II of the Government's Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Tony WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State forDefence what the characteristics were of the Tanzanian air traffic control system that meant it should be considered by the Arms Working Party under the MOD Form 680 procedure. [29441]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 23 January 2002]: The F680 process is an informal process under which companies can obtain advice on the prospects for the approval of exports at the marketing stage. Any goods that are subject to Strategic Export Controls are eligible for consideration under this procedure.