Select committee: Committees on Arms Export Controls
Conclusion 3
First Joint Report - Developments in UK Strategic Export Controls
Published 28 Oct 2022
Paragraph 25
Committees on Arms Export Controls UK arms exports in 2019 All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Whilst we welcome the information contained in the Strategic Export Controls Annual Report, stakeholders argue it is too descriptive of events and does not drill down sufficiently to provide qualitative or quantitative analysis of the data. We share stakeholders’ concerns about the transparency of information available on Open Licences, especially as the Government has previously promised to review what further data it can make publicly available. Industry is already required to record this information, so we are unclear as to why the Government has yet to improve the quality of information available.
From: Committees on Arms Export Controls, First Joint Report - Developments in UK Strategic Export Controls (HC 282), paragraph 25, 28 October 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 9 January 2023 (deadline 9 January 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government responds to the Committees' recommendations by noting some conclusions, committing to specific updates and data, and declining several recommendations, including a post-shipment verification pilot and an independent review of the new Criteria.
- On LITE, the government says delivery is being progressed "urgently" and "will commit to ECJU providing the Committees with six-monthly updates on progress".
- On post-shipment verification, it says it "retain[s] an open mind" but "cannot commit to implementing a pilot programme by 2025", citing significant costs, resource and legal, diplomatic and practical issues.
- On the new Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, it is satisfied they provide a thorough risk assessment framework and "does not consider an independent review to be necessary or proportionate".
- HMRC "will provide convictions data for export control violations for inclusion in Annual Reports", but says it cannot agree to give the Committees settlement data, even privately.