Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 22 January (HL455), how many exemptions and licences have been issued for British exports to Syria in the last two years; and whether those were granted to (1) commercial, or (2) other, groups.

For the most recent two-year period for which data is available (1 October 2017 – 30 September 2019), eight Single Individual Export Licences were issued for Syria of which none were provided to commercial end-users. All the licences were for humanitarian purposes. No licences were granted to the Syrian regime or armed opposition groups.

In addition, one Open Individual Export Licence was issued in this period, covering goods for humanitarian end use. Information about licences granted between 1 October 2019 – 31 December 2019 is due to be published on GOV.UK on 14 April 2020. The British Government does not grant 'exemptions' for export licences.