To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Monday 19th July 2021

Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to help ensure that legal protection for intellectual property and patents does not determine the ability of people around the world to gain urgent access to a safe, timely and effective covid-19 vaccine.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Whilst the UK has not seen evidence that Intellectual Property is a barrier to the production or supply of COVID-19 goods, including vaccines, the Government will continue to engage constructively in debates at the World Trade Organisation Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Council and other international institutions to promote affordable and equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines for all.

The UK will continue to push ahead with pragmatic action, including voluntary licensing and technology transfer agreements for vaccines, support for COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, and solutions for production bottlenecks and supply chain issues.


Written Question
Overseas Aid: Gulf States
Monday 9th November 2020

Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2020 to 106364, how many projects were applied for by the Department of International Trade under the Integrated Activity Fund in the (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20 financial years; and what the (a) allocated budget and (b) actual spending was for each project.

Answered by Ranil Jayawardena

The Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) provides funding in support of a range of programmes across the Gulf Region. The Department for International Trade has led or been involved in programmes that include, but are not limited to, activities focusing on education; sport and culture; and healthcare. All of our work is in line with international standards and aims to share the United Kingdom's expertise and experience.

It is government policy to not disclose specific information related to individual IAF projects to maintain the confidence and confidentiality of commercial interests and our Gulf partners.


Written Question
Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia
Monday 12th October 2020

Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the total value was of arms exports from the UK to Saudi Arabia in 2019.

Answered by Ranil Jayawardena

Defence and security export statistics by region – rather than individual countries – are published on GOV.UK annually

However, HM Government publishes Official Statistics about export licences granted and refused each quarter. The publicly available data on GOV.UK currently includes details of licences up to 31st March 2020; data for the period 1st April 2020 to 30th June 2020 will be published on 13th October 2020.

Licensing data does not provide an accurate export value as value needs only to be declared for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs). Nonetheless, export values declared in SIELs for military exports granted to Saudi Arabia in 2019 were £638,236,675; and in the last 10 years were £9,262,769,732. Licences granted are not necessarily a measure of exports shipped in a given period though – as they are valid for between two and five years – and some such licences expire before they are used so, in these circumstances, exporters must submit a further application, which can result in double counting.


Written Question
Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia
Monday 12th October 2020

Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the total value of arms exports from the UK to Saudi Arabia was in the last ten years.

Answered by Ranil Jayawardena

Defence and security export statistics by region – rather than individual countries – are published on GOV.UK annually

However, HM Government publishes Official Statistics about export licences granted and refused each quarter. The publicly available data on GOV.UK currently includes details of licences up to 31st March 2020; data for the period 1st April 2020 to 30th June 2020 will be published on 13th October 2020.

Licensing data does not provide an accurate export value as value needs only to be declared for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs). Nonetheless, export values declared in SIELs for military exports granted to Saudi Arabia in 2019 were £638,236,675; and in the last 10 years were £9,262,769,732. Licences granted are not necessarily a measure of exports shipped in a given period though – as they are valid for between two and five years – and some such licences expire before they are used so, in these circumstances, exporters must submit a further application, which can result in double counting.


Written Question
Arms Trade: Israel
Thursday 11th July 2019

Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which weapons and equipment were licenced for sale to Israel on 18 May 2018.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

No licences were granted for weapons on 18th May 2018 for export to Israel.

However, two equipment licences were granted – one was a Temporary export licence for military training equipment, which was issued for use in the provision of an aerial target for an air defence training exercise. Temporary exports are returned to the UK within the 12 month validity of the licence granted. The second licence was for information security equipment, which was issued for a street light control gateway.


Written Question
Arms Trade: Turkey
Monday 11th March 2019

Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the value has been of UK arms export licences to Turkey issued in each of the last five calendar years.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

All export licences are issued in strict accordance with the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.

The Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) about export licences granted, refused and revoked on GOV.UK. These reports contain detailed information on export licences issued, refused or revoked, by destination, including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.

The data currently provides details of licences up to 30 September 2018. Information about the period 1 October to 31 December 2018 will be published on 16 April 2019 and data covering the period 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2019 will be published in July 2019.


Written Question
Overseas Trade: Burma
Tuesday 16th October 2018

Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what official advice his Department provides to firms on doing business with Burmese military-owned and controlled companies.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department for International Trade (DIT) helps businesses export, drives investment and champions free trade. DIT’s team in Burma supports UK companies in doing business with Burma.

On informing any British business of the challenges of operating in Burma, DIT staff explain that the export of goods or services to the Burmese military is governed by the EU arms embargo with Burma. The UK was instrumental in the tightening of these regulations. The British government supports the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business which provides practical advice to UK companies seeking to do responsible, sustainable and transparent business in Burma.