Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Wassenaar Arrangement in controlling the dual-use export of (a) artificial intelligence, (b) quantum computing, (c) biometric tools and data and (d) intangible technology transfers.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Wassenaar Arrangement is a long-established multilateral export control regime which operates by consensus. It includes the majority of states producing these advanced technologies and draws on expertise from all members to develop control lists, which are updated annually. These lists are used by participating states to implement their export controls and, as the Wassenaar Arrangement sets the global standard for good practice, non-member states also incorporate the control lists into their domestic legislation.
The UK is an active member of the Wassenaar Arrangement and other multilateral export control regimes. We submit and review proposals related to these advanced technologies, share best practice, and participate in outreach to non-member states. We are co-ordinating with G7 and other partners to strengthen export controls, including to update multilateral export control regime lists to keep pace with rapid technological developments.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he is taking diplomatic steps to reform (a) the Wassenaar Arrangement and (b) other export control and non-proliferation agreements.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Wassenaar Arrangement is a long-established multilateral export control regime which operates by consensus. It includes the majority of states producing these advanced technologies and draws on expertise from all members to develop control lists, which are updated annually. These lists are used by participating states to implement their export controls and, as the Wassenaar Arrangement sets the global standard for good practice, non-member states also incorporate the control lists into their domestic legislation.
The UK is an active member of the Wassenaar Arrangement and other multilateral export control regimes. We submit and review proposals related to these advanced technologies, share best practice, and participate in outreach to non-member states. We are co-ordinating with G7 and other partners to strengthen export controls, including to update multilateral export control regime lists to keep pace with rapid technological developments.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Table 2.4 of the UK strategic export controls annual report 2022, published on 19 July 2023, HC1681, what the (a) destination country and (b) type of goods to be exported were for each Standard Individual Export Licence and Standard Individual Trade Control Licence revoked under Criterion 2.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
As part of our commitment to transparency, HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on how many occasions the Change in Circumstances Review assessment process in the Export Controls Joint Unit has led to extant export licences being suspended in each year since 2010; and what the destination country was in each case.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) has in place an established process for responding at pace to changing conditions in a country where the UK has previously granted export licences, and where those licences remain extant.
The FCDO advises DBT on the situation in country and the risks this poses with respect to the UK’s export control responsibilities. The MOD advises DBT on the risks of diversion of exported goods and national security risks arising from hostile state activity. The Department of Business and Trade, with DBT Secretary of State as the decision-making authority, decides whether to amend, suspend or revoke any relevant licences.
We publish comprehensive Official Statistics every quarter about the decisions we make on licence applications, including any decisions to suspend or revoke licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on how many occasions the Change in Circumstances Review assessment process in the Export Controls Joint Unit has led to extant export licences being revoked in each year since 2010; and what the destination country was in each case.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) has in place an established process for responding at pace to changing conditions in a country where the UK has previously granted export licences, and where those licences remain extant.
The FCDO advises DBT on the situation in country and the risks this poses with respect to the UK’s export control responsibilities. The MOD advises DBT on the risks of diversion of exported goods and national security risks arising from hostile state activity. The Department of Business and Trade, with DBT Secretary of State as the decision-making authority, decides whether to amend, suspend or revoke any relevant licences.
We publish comprehensive Official Statistics every quarter about the decisions we make on licence applications, including any decisions to suspend or revoke licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Export Controls and Human Rights Initiative Code of Conduct, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the private sector, (b) academics and (c) civil society representatives on human rights and the implementation of export control measures.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Export Control Joint Unit has a regular and ongoing dialogue with the private sector, academics and civil society representatives about all aspects of export control policy and implementation, including human rights.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she is taking steps to implement the Export Controls and Human Rights Initiative Code of Conduct.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The UK is a subscribing state to the 'Code of Conduct for Enhancing Export Controls of Goods and Technology that could be Misused and Lead to Serious Violations or Abuses of Human Rights'. The UK has committed to applying export controls to ensure that relevant goods and technologies are used in compliance with international human rights law.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Table 2.3 of the UK strategic export controls annual report 2022, published on 19 July 2023, HC1681, how many (a) Standard Individual Export Licence and (b) Standard Individual Trade Control Licence export applications were refused under Criterion 2 of the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria due to (i) a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate internal repression, (ii) established serious violations of human rights in the destination country and (iii) a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
As part of our commitment to transparency, HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many strategic export licence applications were escalated to Ministers in (a) her Department, (b) the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and (c) the Ministry of Defence in each year since 2010; and what the destination countries were in each such case.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
Export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against announced policies and the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC). Given the high volume of decisions taken every week, the vast majority of licensing applications are decided upon by officials within the Export Control Joint Unit acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, using the framework provided by the SELC. These decisions are taken in consultation with officials from other government departments including the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence.
In practice a very small proportion of export licensing decisions are escalated to Ministers. For example, this happens when a decision is finely balanced or when Ministers have asked for certain types of cases to be referred to them for decision. As with any part of Government, ECJU officials would consult Ministers from the three Departments in the normal course of their work, including on some export control applications, as and when necessary. We do not maintain a central record of how many times this has happened in the last 14 years.
Ministers are always consulted on any decisions related to revoking or suspending licences. We report on the volume of revoked and suspended licences in our Quarterly Statistics and Annual Report. These can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many export licence applications were escalated to the dispute resolution mechanism or complex cases mechanism in each year since 2010; and what the destination country was in each such case.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
Export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against announced policies and the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC). Decisions are routinely taken by the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU), on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. These decisions are taken in consultation with officials from other government departments, principally the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence but occasionally other Departments are also consulted depending on the nature of the case.
There is no single ‘dispute resolution mechanism’ which is regularly or consistently enacted. There have been various occasions since 2010 where different procedures have been set up to enable wider consultation and scrutiny of export licensing cases with Ministers across Government. These were in reaction to specific concerns or strategic priorities at the time. They can involve different attendees and terms of reference depending on the situation. We do not maintain data on how often this sort of procedure has been used over multiple years.
There is no specific ‘complex case mechanism’. ECJU receives a high volume of ‘complex cases’ and the vast majority are decided upon by consensus. However, if ECJU officials are unable to come to a consensus about a case they could refer it to MOD and FCDO Ministers, and ultimately to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade who has the responsibility for making the final decision. This happens extremely rarely in practice and therefore we do not maintain data on its occurrence over multiple years.