XIII CONCLUSION
117. It is a legislative absurdity that many of our
strategic export controls remain dependent upon Second World War
powers introduced by way of emergency legislation. We welcome
this belated effort to address this anachronism, although we sadly
note that certain import controls will remain dependent upon the
1939 Act. We expect the Government to consult urgently on inclusion
of the appropriate clauses to remove the final vestiges of the
1939 Act. We are confident that there would be a wide consensus
in the House for that objective.
118. However, as the draft Bill and the response
to the consultation document reveal, new legislation will be required
to address issues which were not dealt with in 1939. Indeed, they
were not addressed by the Scott Report which in itself did so
much to prompt the current legislative proposals. The issues of
intangible transfers of WMD technology, brokering and trafficking,
end-use, and licensed production overseas are legislative issues
of our time. We welcome Ministers' decision to address these more
recent concerns, and particularly welcome the Secretary of State
for Trade and Industry's open-mindedness on the scope and nature
of the legislative measures required. Indeed, despite the pressures
of time, Ministers appear to wish, and could certainly ensure,
that this pre-legislative consultation process is a model of its
kind. The assurance that there will be a similar consultation
on the draft secondary legislation is particularly welcome.
119. There have been significant advances in openness
and transparency in arms licensing during the course of this Parliament,
which has been properly recognised in our previous Reports. A
new comprehensive Bill, combined with the publication of an annual
report, the further development of the EU Code of Conduct and
national criteria, and the logical extension of this approach,
prior parliamentary scrutiny, would make the United Kingdom a
model of transparency and accountability in an area of policy
vital to the country's international reputation.
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