Appendix 5: Letter to the Chairman
from the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Thank you for your letter of 25 October 2004
on behalf of the Quadripartite Select Committee regarding the
issue of prior Parliamentary scrutiny of export licence applications.
The Government has set out its position on several
occasions, notably in our Command Paper responses of July 2000
(Cm 4799), December 2000 (Cm 4872), July 2001 (Cm 5141) and October
2002 (Cm 5629). I would draw your attention in particular to what
was said in our July 2001 Command Paper response, Cm 5141. The
Government's further consideration of the issues prior to my 29
June letter did not lead to any different conclusions. In summary
the Government considers it would be unacceptable to blur the
line between scrutiny by Parliament of the Government's actions
on the one hand, and participation by the Committee in the decision-making
process itself on the other; and furthermore, any meaningful involvement
by the Committee in the decision-making process would inevitably
give rise to delay and call for additional resources.
As the Committee is aware, we concluded instead
that more could be done to achieve greater accountability and
transparency, by releasing on a quarterly basis the information
on export licences which was previously released annually in the
Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls. This will provide
the Committee with licensing data nearer to the time the decisions
are taken. Furthermore, alongside these Quarterly Reports, we
provide the Committee with confidential report containing lists
of extant OIELs and enhanced information on refusal decisions.
These positive steps should enhance scrutiny of export licensing
in line with the Government's commitment to greater transparency.
I am copying this letter to Jack Straw, Geoff
Hoon and Hilary Benn.
Patricia Hewitt
November 2004
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