Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the re-export of defence equipment.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK system is based on having a thorough risk-assessment process for the original export licence before the goods leave the UK. Export licence applicants are required to inform us of any intention to re-export the goods at the time of submitting their export licence application. It is an offence for an export licence applicant to knowingly make a statement which is false, and any licence granted on the basis of this would become void. This encourages exporters to be clear on their export licence applications about known re-exports to third countries.
We can and do refuse applications where there is a planned re-export that is inconsistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, or where we assess that the goods may be diverted to an undesirable destination.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what controls her Department places on the re-export of defence equipment.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK system is based on having a thorough risk-assessment process for the original export licence before the goods leave the UK. Export licence applicants are required to inform us of any intention to re-export the goods at the time of submitting their export licence application. It is an offence for an export licence applicant to knowingly make a statement which is false, and any licence granted on the basis of this would become void. This encourages exporters to be clear on their export licence applications about known re-exports to third countries.
We can and do refuse applications where there is a planned re-export that is inconsistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, or where we assess that the goods may be diverted to an undesirable destination.