Ministers to face MPs over UK arms export controls: Committee to press Government on transparency, Israel, illegal settlements and Sudan
Ministers from the Department for Business and Trade, the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will appear before the Business and Trade Committee to answer questions on whether the UK’s arms export control regime is transparent, effective and being properly enforced.
Meeting details
Following the abolition of the Committees on Arms Export Controls, the Business and Trade Committee has undertaken a programme of scrutiny into the operation of the UK’s export licensing system and whether Parliament has sufficient information to hold ministers to account.
The Committee has repeatedly been told that Government departments cannot provide timely or comprehensive data on export licences because their systems cannot effectively share information. MPs will therefore press ministers to commit to a fundamental overhaul of arms export reporting so Parliament can properly scrutinise what military and dual-use goods the UK is licensing and exporting.
The session will examine whether the UK’s export control regime is meeting the Government’s obligations under domestic and international law.
Ministers will be questioned on the continued licensing of military exports to Israel, including whether recent developments require further restrictions.
The Committee will also ask why the Government is failing to take tougher steps to prohibit trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories..
MPs will question ministers on whether UK export controls are sufficiently robust to prevent military and dual-use goods reaching sanctioned countries, including Russia, through third countries.
The hearing will also examine whether the Government should impose tighter restrictions on exports that risk contributing to the conflict in Sudan, including concerns about the role of the United Arab Emirates in supplying the warring parties.
The Committee will seek assurances that Britain’s export control system is transparent, enforceable and capable of ensuring UK exports do not contribute to conflict or breaches of international humanitarian law.
Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, said:
“Britain rightly has one of the world’s most rigorous arms export control regimes. But public confidence depends on Parliament being able to see that the rules are working in practice.
“Ministers have admitted that Government systems cannot provide a clear picture of what has actually been licensed and exported. That is simply not good enough. Parliament cannot scrutinise what it cannot see.
“We want ministers to commit to a fundamental overhaul of arms export reporting and to explain how the Government is ensuring that British exports are not contributing to conflict or breaches of international humanitarian law.
“That means answering difficult questions about exports to Israel, trade with illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the diversion of controlled goods to Russia, and the risk of British exports fuelling the devastating conflict in Sudan. These are issues on which Parliament and the public deserve clear answers.”