Committees on Arms ExportsLetter from the Chair of the Committees to the Rt Hon William Hague MP, First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Thank you for your letter of 30 September with which you enclosed as Annex B the Government’s Answers to The Committees on Arms Export Controls’ (CAEC) Questions relating to the review of Government policy and practice with regard to the export of equipment that might be used for internal repression together with the following Tables:

Table 1:	Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL) Revocations since 18 February 2011
Table 2:	Open Individual Export Licence (OIEL) Revocations since 18 February 2011
Table 3(a):	All Extant SIELs
Table 3(b)	Extant Military SIELs
Table 4:	Extant OIELs
Table 4(b):	Extant Military OIELs

I attach as an Annex to this letter the Questions arising from Annex B to your letter to me of 30 September to which the CAEC wishes to have the Answers before you and Vince Cable give Oral Evidence to the CAEC on 7 February. Please may we have the Government’s Answers no later than Friday 27 January.

This letter and the Government’s Answers will be made public. If there is any supplementary information that you wish to provide to CAEC on a classified basis, this will be handled separately in the usual way.

I am copying this letter and the Annex to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for International Development.

Annex

SIEL Revocations

Have there been any SIEL revocations additional to those set out in Table 1? If so, please provide the details as in Table 1.

OIEL Revocations

Have there been any OIEL Revocations additional to those set out in Table 1? If so, please provide the details as in Table 1.

Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar

In Table 1, details are provided of arms export licences to Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar. The CAEC asked for details of all extant arms export licences in respect of each country for which licences have been revoked. No details of extant arms export licences to Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar appear in any of Tables 3(a), 3(b), 4 or 4(b). Please could these details be provided for Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar in the same format as in Tables 3(a), 3(b), 4 and 4(b).

Bahrain

Why are there arms export licences still extant for cryptographic software and equipment employing cryptography (Tables 3(a) and 3(b)) when licences for cryptographic software and equipment employing cryptography have been revoked (Tables 1 and 2)?

Why are there arms export licences still extant for small arms ammunition (Tables 3(a) and 3(b)) when licences for small arms ammunition have been revoked (Tables 1 and 2)?

Why are there arms export licences still extant for body armour (Tables 3(a) and 3(b)) when licences for body armour have been revoked (Table 2)?

Is the Government still satisfied that none of the extant arms export licences to Bahrain listed in Tables 3(a), 3(b), 4 and 4(b) with values for SIEL’s “now contravenes Criteria 2 and 3”, this being the Government’s “Reason for Revocation” for every revoked arms export licence listed in Annex 1 of the Government’s Response (Cm 8079) to the CAEC’s last Report (HC 686)?

Egypt

Why are there arms export licences still extant for military communications equipment (Tables 4 and 4(b)) when licences for military communications equipment have been revoked (Table 2)?

Is the Government still satisfied that none of the extant arms export licences to Egypt listed in Tables 3(a), 4 and 4(b) with values for SIELs contravene Criteria 2 and 3?

Libya

Is the Government still satisfied that none of the extant arms export licences to Libya listed in Tables 3(a), 3(b), 4 and 4(b) with values for SIELs contravene Criteria 2 and 3?

Saudi Arabia

Is the Government still satisfied that none of the extant arms export licences to Saudi Arabia listed in Tables 3(a), 3(b), 4 and 4(b) with values for SIELs contravene Criteria 2 and 3?

Syria

Is the figure of only one arms export licence revocation to Syria stated in Annex B, paragraph 1, this being for military cargo vehicles and components for military cargo vehicles, correct given that a further licence revocation of small arms ammunition to Syria was detailed by the BIS Minister Mark Prisk in his Written Answer to Sir John Stanley on October 10 (Column 258W)?

Is the Government still satisfied that none of the extant arms export licences to Syria listed in Table 4 with values for SIELs, including the licences relating to equipment employing cryptography, contravene Criteria 2 and 3?

Tunisia

Why were the arms export licence revocations to Tunisia detailed in the Government’s Response (Cm 8079) not included in Table 1 and/or 2?

The CAEC asked for details of all extant arms export licences in respect of each country for which licences have been revoked. No details of extant arms export licences to Tunisia appear in any of Tables 3(a), 3(b), 4 or 4(b). Please could these details be provided for Tunisia in the same format as in Tables 3(a), 3(b), 4 and 4(b).

The Yemen

Is the Government still satisfied that none of the extant arms export licences to The Yemen listed in Tables 3(a), 3(b), and 4 with values for SIELs, including licences relating to equipment employing cryptography, military cameras and body armour, contravene Criteria 2 and 3?

Updating of Extant Arms Export Licences

Since Tables 3(a), 3(b), 4 and 4(b) were submitted to the CAEC, what further arms export licences have been approved to countries in North Africa and the Middle East for which licences have been revoked? Please could the details be provided in the same format as in Tables 3(a), 3(b), 4 and 4(b).

16 January 2012