Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure (a) transparency and (b) accountability of arms sales to countries involved in conflicts.

HM Government takes its export control responsibilities very seriously and we operate one of the most robust and transparent export control regimes in the world.

We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the Criteria). The Criteria provide a thorough risk assessment framework and we will not issue an export licence to any destination where to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria.

We can and do respond quickly and flexibly to changing international circumstances. All licences are kept under careful and continual review as standard. Acting upon advice from other Government departments, in particular the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office regarding the situation in country and the risks this poses with respect to the UK’s export control responsibilities. Secretary of State for Business and Trade is able to amend, suspend or revoke extant licences and refuse new licence applications as circumstances require.

We publish comprehensive Official Statistics every quarter about the decisions we make on licence applications including those issued, refused or revoked. This includes data on outcome, end user destination(s), value and licence (product type). This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.