Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information his Department holds on which countries purchase spare parts from the F35 global spare part pool.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Once parts are exported from the UK to the global F-35 programme, the UK does not have access to information about the movement of individual components, and does not have control over whether components in the global spares pool are used for specific customer nations or not.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what revenues (a) the Government and (b) manufacturers have received from selling components into the F35 global spare parts pool in each of the last three years.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK Government does not sell F-35 components directly, but licences the export of components to the F-35 global programme from a number of UK suppliers.
The Department for Business and Trade does not hold information on the revenue of companies generated from sales to the F-35 global spares pool.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the Government of placing conditionality on the use of UK-manufactured goods being sent to Israel through the global spare parts pool for use on planes operated by the Israel Defense Forces.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Once parts are exported from the UK to the F-35 global spares pool and aircraft assembly facilities, due to the design of the programme, the UK does not have control over whether components are used for specific customer nations or not.
The UK cannot make changes to the F-35 programme unilaterally – it requires agreement across all the Partner Nations.
The only way to prevent UK-produced parts reaching Israel would be for the UK Government to stop the export of parts to the entire F-35 programme, which would prejudice the security of the UK and our allies.
Facing a critical moment for European security and war on our continent, the Government has a solemn responsibility to consider the full implications of our decisions. Undermining the F35 programme would disrupt international peace and security, NATO deterrence and European defence.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether steps are available to him to have a carve out of the F35 global components pool placing a moratorium on the use of UK manufactured parts by the Israeli government.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Once parts are exported from the UK to the F-35 global spares pool and aircraft assembly facilities, due to the design of the programme, the UK does not have control over whether components are used for specific customer nations or not.
The UK cannot make changes to the F-35 programme unilaterally – it requires agreement across all the Partner Nations.
The only way to prevent UK-produced parts reaching Israel would be for the UK Government to stop the export of parts to the entire F-35 programme, which would prejudice the security of the UK and our allies.
Facing a critical moment for European security and war on our continent, the Government has a solemn responsibility to consider the full implications of our decisions. Undermining the F35 programme would disrupt international peace and security, NATO deterrence and European defence.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will place conditionality on the use of UK manufactured components sold into the F35 spare parts components pool.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Once parts are exported from the UK to the F-35 global spares pool and aircraft assembly facilities, due to the design of the programme, the UK does not have control over whether components are used for specific customer nations or not.
The UK cannot make changes to the F-35 programme unilaterally – it requires agreement across all the Partner Nations.
The only way to prevent UK-produced parts reaching Israel would be for the UK Government to stop the export of parts to the entire F-35 programme, which would prejudice the security of the UK and our allies.
Facing a critical moment for European security and war on our continent, the Government has a solemn responsibility to consider the full implications of our decisions. Undermining the F35 programme would disrupt international peace and security, NATO deterrence and European defence.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many UK-manufactured parts have been sold into the F35 global spare parts pool since (a) 7 October 2023 and (b) 2 September 2024; and how many of these parts have been transferred to Israel.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Business and Trade does not hold information on the quantity of goods exported under Open General Export Licences. The principle of such licences – such as those for UK suppliers to the F-35 programme – is that they allow registered companies to export an unrestricted quantity of permitted items.
Due to the design of the programme, the UK Government also does not have access to information about the movement of specific F-35 components around the F-35 global programme, including the provision of parts to specific customers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to ensure that the release of Jimmy Lai is a prerequisite to any trade agreement with China.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This Government has no plans to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with China. This Government will stand firm on issues relating to human rights. My Right Honourable friend the Foreign Secretary raised the case of Jimmy Lai during his recent visit to China from 18-20 October.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether it is possible to introduce restrictions under the Open General export licensing regime to prevent export of arms to countries deemed at risk of using them for purposes that would violate international humanitarian law without disrupting export to approved recipients.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Open General Licences (OGLs) are pre-published licences that permit the export of specified items to specified destinations, following an online registration. These licences do not have any approved named recipients, however what they permit and to which destinations must be consistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC). If this assessment changes for either, then the OGL is amended, typically by removing the destination of concern. Removal of a destination from an OGL does not prevent an exporter from applying for a Standard Individual Export Licence – which would be assessed on its own merits against the SELC.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what capacity his Department has for monitoring the end-user destination of arms exported under the Open General license regime; and what assessment he has made of the compatibility of those licenses with the end-use monitoring obligations of the Export Control Joint Unit.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The scope and terms of Open General Licences (OGLs) are chosen so they are consistent with the SELC. OGLs are typically offered for low risk destinations and low risk items. If our assessment of the risks relating to an OGL changes, then the OGL is amended or revoked. We would expect exporters to apply for a Standard Individual Export Licence where OGLs are not available and we would then be able to make a detailed assessment taking into account the specifics of the application before deciding whether or not to issue a licence.
The UK’s approach is designed to enable a rigorous risk assessment to be carried out before a licence is issued to consider whether goods might be used in a way which is inconsistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC). The UK does not carry out end-use verification checks overseas after a licence is issued.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including measures to enable targets of bullying at work to take cases to an employment tribunal in the proposed Employment Rights Bill.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government is committed to delivering the Plan to Make Work Pay in full and updating Britain's employment protections, so they are fit for our modern economy and the future of work. This includes commitments to support the wellbeing of workers, including their long term physical and mental health, and to ensure employers create and maintain workplaces and working conditions free from harassment. Ministers are identifying the most appropriate delivery mechanisms for the commitments in the Plan, including an Employment Rights Bill that will be introduced to Parliament within 100 days of taking office.