Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s priorities are for the next Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference; and what steps they are taking to implement those priorities.

The Government believes that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) should remain the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. We urge all states that have not yet done so to join the NPT as non-Nuclear Weapons States. At this year's Preparatory Committee we will continue to engage with a wide range of states on how we can tackle the challenges that we face on non-proliferation and disarmament and enable access to the peaceful use of nuclear technology. The UK plays a leading role on disarmament verification and we will continue to press for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the start of negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament and increased transparency and trust between Nuclear Weapons States in order to develop the global conditions in which nuclear armed states feel confident enough to relinquish their weapons.