Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the value was of UK export orders of defence equipment and services in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The value of UK defence exports (based on orders) from 2012 – 2016 is shown in the table below.
Year | £BN |
2012 | 8.8 |
2013 | 9.8 |
2014 | 8.5 |
2015 | 7.7 |
2016 | 5.9 |
Source: DIT DSO
The data is taken from the official statistics based on orders or sales “UK defence and security export figures 2016”. These are compiled annually by the DIT DSO Market Analysis team and are published on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-defence-and-security-export-figures-2016
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will place in the Library studies produced by the Defence and Security Organisation and Defence Growth Partnership that examine the potential market landscape for UK naval exports in the five to 15-year market.
Answered by Mark Garnier
Market analysis relating to the potential for future naval exports is classified and commercially sensitive. There are therefore no plans to place such studies in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what basis European Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP has in UK law.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The UK acts in accordance with Common Position 2008/944/CFSP in its application of the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. These Criteria were set out in a written ministerial statement by the former Business Secretary on 25 March 2014 as guidance given under section 9 of the Export Control Act 2002.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2017 to Question 63161, what the evidential basis is for all the relevant EU directives having been transposed into UK law.
Answered by Mark Garnier
There are two relevant directives.
Directive 91/477/EEC : the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons.
The relevant parts of this Directive relate to transfers of firearms by persons in possession of a European Firearms Pass which is implemented by article 15 of the Export Control Order 2008 SI 2008/3231.
Directive 2009/43/EC : simplifying terms and conditions of transfers of defence-related products within the Community.
This was transposed into UK law through The Export Control (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2012 S.I. 2012/1910.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the implications for those elements of the UK's legal and regulatory framework for arms exports derived from EU directives when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Mark Garnier
All the relevant directives have been transposed into UK Law. The Government is conducting a broad range of analysis to understand the impact of leaving the EU on all aspects of the UK.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the value of UK exports secured through the US Department of Defense Foreign Comparative Testing Program since 2010.
Answered by Mark Garnier
Between 1980 and 2016 UK companies have received $483m in FCT Test and Evaluation funding and secured $3.17bn in follow-on acquisitions (averaging nearly $90m per year), more than double that of the next country (Germany). For the 2016/2017 period UK companies are participating in 14 ongoing Test & Evaluation programmes.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help companies engage with the US Department of Defense Foreign Comparative Testing Program.
Answered by Mark Garnier
The Defence Security Organisation (DSO), through the British Embassy in Washington DC, has a strong relationship with the Foreign Comparative Test (FCT) Program. We coordinate regular activities in the UK promoting the opportunities provided by the Program including events at Farnborough International Air Show, Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) and Defence Procurement, Research, Technology & Exportability (DPRTE) as well as bespoke events where the FCT engage with British industry on a 1-2-1 basis.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the decline in defence exports.
Answered by Liam Fox
Defence export figures fluctuate on a year to year basis given the long term nature of defence acquisition. In the context of an increasingly competitive global market, the UK’s defence exports were £7.7 billion in 2015. Based on past performance, over a five year period, the figures demonstrate that the sector’s core business is strong.