Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to help ensure that legal protection for intellectual property and patents does not determine the ability of people around the world to gain urgent access to a safe, timely and effective covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Greg Hands
Whilst the UK has not seen evidence that Intellectual Property is a barrier to the production or supply of COVID-19 goods, including vaccines, the Government will continue to engage constructively in debates at the World Trade Organisation Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Council and other international institutions to promote affordable and equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines for all.
The UK will continue to push ahead with pragmatic action, including voluntary licensing and technology transfer agreements for vaccines, support for COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, and solutions for production bottlenecks and supply chain issues.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2020 to 106364, how many projects were applied for by the Department of International Trade under the Integrated Activity Fund in the (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20 financial years; and what the (a) allocated budget and (b) actual spending was for each project.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) provides funding in support of a range of programmes across the Gulf Region. The Department for International Trade has led or been involved in programmes that include, but are not limited to, activities focusing on education; sport and culture; and healthcare. All of our work is in line with international standards and aims to share the United Kingdom's expertise and experience.
It is government policy to not disclose specific information related to individual IAF projects to maintain the confidence and confidentiality of commercial interests and our Gulf partners.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the total value was of arms exports from the UK to Saudi Arabia in 2019.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Defence and security export statistics by region – rather than individual countries – are published on GOV.UK annually
However, HM Government publishes Official Statistics about export licences granted and refused each quarter. The publicly available data on GOV.UK currently includes details of licences up to 31st March 2020; data for the period 1st April 2020 to 30th June 2020 will be published on 13th October 2020.
Licensing data does not provide an accurate export value as value needs only to be declared for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs). Nonetheless, export values declared in SIELs for military exports granted to Saudi Arabia in 2019 were £638,236,675; and in the last 10 years were £9,262,769,732. Licences granted are not necessarily a measure of exports shipped in a given period though – as they are valid for between two and five years – and some such licences expire before they are used so, in these circumstances, exporters must submit a further application, which can result in double counting.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the total value of arms exports from the UK to Saudi Arabia was in the last ten years.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Defence and security export statistics by region – rather than individual countries – are published on GOV.UK annually
However, HM Government publishes Official Statistics about export licences granted and refused each quarter. The publicly available data on GOV.UK currently includes details of licences up to 31st March 2020; data for the period 1st April 2020 to 30th June 2020 will be published on 13th October 2020.
Licensing data does not provide an accurate export value as value needs only to be declared for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs). Nonetheless, export values declared in SIELs for military exports granted to Saudi Arabia in 2019 were £638,236,675; and in the last 10 years were £9,262,769,732. Licences granted are not necessarily a measure of exports shipped in a given period though – as they are valid for between two and five years – and some such licences expire before they are used so, in these circumstances, exporters must submit a further application, which can result in double counting.