§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many export licences, and of what value, were approved for the export of main portable air defence systems to governments and others in each year since 1997; and how many such licences were not approved. [141199]
§ Nigel GriffithsMAN Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS) are rated under both category ML4a and category ML4b. Of course there is other equipment also rated under these categories. To carry out a search of how many licences were approved and refused for export since 1997 would require a search first by category, bringing up in all probability thousands of goods lines, followed by a search, both of computer records and a manual search, of each of those goods lines, to determine whether the goods listed under the relevant category contained any equipment for MANPADS.