Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many open general export licences have been granted in the last five years to African countries not in the Commonwealth; and to which countries.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
Open General Export Licences (OGELs) are not granted for specific exports to specific destinations, rather they are pre-published licences that permit the export of specified items to a range of specified countries, following an online registration. They remove the need for exporters to apply for individual licences, providing the exporters can meet the terms and conditions set out in the licence.
There are also EU General Export Authorisations (EUGEAs) under the dual-use regulations. These permit the export of certain specified dual-use items to specified destinations, subject to the terms and conditions of the licences. They are equivalent to OGELs and are available for use by any exporter within the EU, as well as the United Kingdom for now.
At the end of the transition period, the EUGEAs will be retained as part of the retained Dual-Use Regulation. They will be renamed as “Retained General Export Authorisations” and will be available for use by exporters based in the United Kingdom, to export from the United Kingdom.
In total, there are 65 OGELs and six EUGEAs currently available. To provide actual registrations over the last five years can only be provided at disproportionate cost, as my Department would have to review each live and archived OGEL/EUGEA, which will include reviewing country additions/removal dates and analysing specific registrations over each period.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many open general export licences have been granted in the last five years to South American countries; and to which countries.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
Open General Export Licences (OGELs) are not granted for specific exports to specific destinations, rather they are pre-published licences that permit the export of specified items to a range of specified countries, following an online registration. They remove the need for exporters to apply for individual licences, providing the exporters can meet the terms and conditions set out in the licence.
There are also EU General Export Authorisations (EUGEAs) under the dual-use regulations. These permit the export of certain specified dual-use items to specified destinations, subject to the terms and conditions of the licences. They are equivalent to OGELs and are available for use by any exporter within the EU, as well as the United Kingdom for now.
At the end of the transition period, the EUGEAs will be retained as part of the retained Dual-Use Regulation. They will be renamed as “Retained General Export Authorisations” and will be available for use by exporters based in the United Kingdom, to export from the United Kingdom.
In total, there are 65 OGELs and six EUGEAs currently available. To provide actual registrations over the last five years can only be provided at disproportionate cost, as my Department would have to review each live and archived OGEL/EUGEA, which will include reviewing country additions/removal dates and analysing specific registrations over each period.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many open general export licences have been granted in the last five years to the United States.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
Open General Export Licences (OGELs) are not granted for specific exports to specific destinations, rather they are pre-published licences that permit the export of specified items to a range of specified countries, following an online registration. They remove the need for exporters to apply for individual licences, providing the exporters can meet the terms and conditions set out in the licence.
There are also EU General Export Authorisations (EUGEAs) under the dual-use regulations. These permit the export of certain specified dual-use items to specified destinations, subject to the terms and conditions of the licences. They are equivalent to OGELs and are available for use by any exporter within the EU, as well as the United Kingdom for now.
At the end of the transition period, the EUGEAs will be retained as part of the retained Dual-Use Regulation. They will be renamed as “Retained General Export Authorisations” and will be available for use by exporters based in the United Kingdom, to export from the United Kingdom.
In total, there are 65 OGELs and six EUGEAs currently available. To provide actual registrations over the last five years can only be provided at disproportionate cost, as my Department would have to review each live and archived OGEL/EUGEA, which will include reviewing country additions/removal dates and analysing specific registrations over each period.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Armed Forces personnel have been deployed to support activities related to the COVID-19 pandemic, broken down by service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As of 11 May 2020, the breakdown by single Service of personnel currently deployed to support the Government’s response to COVID-19 is as follows:
Navy | 180 |
Army | 3,505 |
Air | 154 |
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the (1) aerospace, (2) aviation, and (3) automotive industries in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are supporting the aerospace industry through the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) with £1.95 billion of funding for research and development (R&D), matched by industry, over 13 years up to 2026. UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) is also providing £125 million to the Future Flight Challenge for research on greener ways of flying through advances in electric and autonomous flight technology, which is expected to generate an additional £175 million of match-funding from industry. We are also co-investing in aerospace productivity improvement and innovation programmes to support small and medium-sized businesses backed with over £135 million of public funding.
In addition, aerospace companies are currently drawing upon the unprecedented £330 billion package of additional COVID-19 business support measures that the Government has put in place. We are in discussion with the sector, through the AGP, about how to best support the industry to recover.
Aviation is also an important sector for the UK’s economy, and businesses across the industry will also be able to draw on our package of economic measures. This includes a Bank of England scheme for firms to raise capital, two business interruption loan guarantee schemes for businesses of all sizes, Time to Pay flexibilities with tax bills, financial support for employees, and VAT deferrals.
If businesses across these sectors face severe and urgent financial difficulties due to COVID-19 following the Government’s cross-economy wage and financial interventions, we remain open to discussions about bespoke financial support as a last resort. Any intervention would need to protect the interests of taxpayers. Requests may be made formally, in writing, to the Business Secretary.
Furthermore, the Government has a long-standing programme of support to maintain the competitiveness of the UK automotive sector. Through our landmark Automotive Sector Deal, we have secured joint investment and long-term commitments to develop world-leading battery technologies, positioning the UK as the location of choice for the development and deployment of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies.
The Government, alongside industry, has jointly committed almost £1.5 billion through the Advanced Propulsion Centre and Faraday Battery Challenge to research, develop, and commercialise low-carbon automotive innovations. In October last year, we announced up to £1 billion of new money to support R&D to support electric vehicle manufacture.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of Russia and the United States about extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which is due to expire in February 2021.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise the contribution the New START Treaty has made to international security by increasing transparency and mutual confidence amongst the two largest Nuclear Weapons States. The Treaty has delivered a reduction of strategic nuclear arsenals, enhanced notably by its robust verification mechanism. We support its continued implementation and have encouraged the US to extend New START while negotiating any successor agreement.
However, we are also clear that New START has limitations. It does not include new Russian systems. Nor does it place any limits on China's growing nuclear arsenal. We therefore see real advantage in President Trump's call for a new strategic arms control agreement including China. We urge both Russia and China to engage seriously with the US on this initiative.
The UK regularly discusses these issues with the US and Russia. We recently had discussions on strategic arms control at a meeting of the five Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) nuclear weapon states, or "P5", which took place in London on 12-13 February. At that meeting, all five states, including the US and Russia, underlined the importance of reducing nuclear risk and promoting stability, and agreed that dialogue on strategic risk reduction should continue.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of China about nuclear disarmament verification.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly supports effective nuclear disarmament verification as a vital step towards eventual nuclear disarmament. Nuclear disarmament verification has been regularly discussed with all five Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Nuclear Weapons States as part of the so called 'P5 process', including at the first meeting in 2009 and at a dedicated meeting in 2012, both chaired by the UK. There have also been two bilateral meetings between UK and Chinese technical institutions involved in disarmament verification research, and both China and the UK participated in the UN Group of Governmental Experts to consider the role of verification in advancing nuclear disarmament.
More broadly, the UK holds a regular Non-Proliferation Dialogue with China which allows for discussions on issues including nuclear security architecture, arms control and nuclear disarmament. The most recent Dialogue took place in November 2019 where the UK encouraged China to re-join the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council about nuclear disarmament.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK works with the other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (or P5) to uphold the global security framework, and, in their character as Nuclear Weapon States recognised by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), on nuclear disarmament. In 2009, the UK initiated the so-called 'P5 Process' of dialogue between the five on issues related to the NPT. In February 2020 the UK hosted the ninth Conference of this process in London, where the five Nuclear Weapons States considered progress on the three pillars of the NPT - disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy - and preparations for the next NPT Review Conference. During its coordination of the P5 process in 2019/20, the UK has prioritised P5 collective work on increasing confidence and transparency, as well as building our mutual understanding of strategic risk reduction concepts and our respective nuclear doctrines. In addition, with the other Nuclear Weapon States, the UK fully participates in the Conference of Disarmament and other international meetings, including the US-led 'Creating an Environment for Nuclear Disarmament' initiative, to progress our collective commitment to eventual nuclear disarmament.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the resilience of the UK nuclear deterrent, particularly in relation to cyber threats.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
We continually assess the capability of the United Kingdom's nuclear submarine fleet to ensure its operational effectiveness and to maintain resilience and protection against both existing and emerging threats, including cyber threats. Her Majesty’s Government has absolute confidence in the robust measures in place to keep the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent safe and secure.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about its recent proposed annexation of territory in the West Bank.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We made clear our deep concerns about reports that the new Israeli Government coalition has reached an agreement which may pave the way for annexation of parts of the West Bank at the UN Security Council remote meeting on the Middle East Peace Process on 23 April. The UK position is clear: any unilateral moves towards annexation of parts of the West Bank by Israel would be damaging to efforts to restart peace negotiations and contrary to international law. The Prime Minister reiterated our opposition to the unilateral annexation of territory during a call with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on 6 February.