Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2023 to Question 1813 on Defence: Exports, what criteria are used to assess export potential.

HMG assesses defence export opportunities against a range of criteria: contribution to political objectives and international relationships; maintenance of sovereign industrial capability; the benefits accrued to HMG through economies of scale; and, contribution to UK prosperity objectives. In addition, the views of the industry commercial lead for the export campaign are taken into consideration. All assessments are conducted in the context of our robust and transparent export control regime for military, dual-use, and other sensitive goods and technologies.