§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the 1015W licence applications his Department has examined for arms exports to (a) India and (b) Pakistan since January 2000; and how many of his Department (i) supported and (ii) opposed. [65413]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienFor a list of application approved by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry to the right hon. and learned Member for North-east Fife (Mr. Campbell) on 13 June 2002,Official Report, column 1377W.
However, views expressed by any individual Department involved in the licensing process fall under the description of "internal discussion and advice", the disclosure of which would harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion. Such information is exempt from disclosure under Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government information.
§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with the(a) Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, (b) Secretary of State for Defence and (c) Secretary of State for International Development regarding arms export licences to (i) Pakistan and (ii) India. [65414]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is in regular contact with his counterparts in the Department of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development on export licensing issues but details of specific discussions fall under the descriptor of "internal discussions and advice" and are exempt from disclosure under Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.