Asked by: Patricia Ferguson (Labour - Glasgow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his department takes to ensure that technology companies with which it contracts are not associated with the gathering of information and data which could be used by other governments to militarily target civilians.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Ethical and integrity considerations are integral to government procurement. Any credible concerns relating to governance, legality, security, or human rights are assessed alongside technical and commercial factors. A supplier that does not meet the required legal, ethical, or security standards will not be eligible for a government contract.
Asked by: Patricia Ferguson (Labour - Glasgow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his department takes to ensure that technology companies with which it contracts do not have links to incidents of violations of international law.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Ethical and integrity considerations are integral to government procurement. Any credible concerns relating to governance, legality, security, or human rights are assessed alongside technical and commercial factors. A supplier that does not meet the required legal, ethical, or security standards will not be eligible for a government contract.
Asked by: Patricia Ferguson (Labour - Glasgow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his department takes to ensure that technology companies with which it contracts are not involved in actions that are contrary to UK Government values.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Ethical and integrity considerations are integral to government procurement. Any credible concerns relating to governance, legality, security, or human rights are assessed alongside technical and commercial factors. A supplier that does not meet the required legal, ethical, or security standards will not be eligible for a government contract.
Asked by: Patricia Ferguson (Labour - Glasgow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has considered the potential merits of ending the export of demolition equipment to Israel.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Exports to Israel of demolition equipment that is specifically designed or modified for military use are subject to export controls.
Such controlled exports fall under the scope of the decision announced in September 2024 to suspend export licences for military equipment to Israel that might be used in operations in Gaza, based on our assessment that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law. We have maintained the suspension and have refused new licence applications on the same basis.
Other demolition equipment is not routinely subject to export controls unless it is intended for military use in a country subject to a formal arms embargo.
We keep our export controls including in Israel under close and continual review.