Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Answer of 8 July 2002 to Question 67534 on Export Licences, whether the guidance on incorporation of British weaponry components is still current; whether that guidance has been (a) updated or (b) modified; and whether it was consulted during the review of (i) extant and (ii) pending licence applications to Israel since October 2023.

The Government takes its defence export responsibilities extremely seriously and operates some of the most robust export controls in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the Criteria).

The Criteria provide a thorough risk assessment framework, and the Export Control Joint Unit will not issue an export licence to any destination where to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria, including where there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law (IHL). This includes licences where UK components are sent to a third country for incorporation into another product which is then supplied to the final destination.

All our export licences are kept under careful and continual review, and we are able to amend, suspend or revoke extant licences, as well as refuse new licence applications, where they are inconsistent with the Criteria.