12 Oct 17. Committees on Arms Export Controls: Committees agree to work together to scrutinise arms exports. The Defence, Foreign Affairs, International Development and International Trade Select Committees have agreed to work together as the Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) to scrutinise the Government’s reports on arms exports. These four Committees will work together because they all have an interest in arms exports as part of their responsibility to scrutinise their respective Government departments. They will meet together regularly to consider the Government’s reports on strategic exports (that is, the exports of arms and other controlled goods). The Chairs of the four Committees – Julian Lewis (Defence Committee), Tom Tugendhat (Foreign Affairs Committee), Stephen Twigg (International Development Committee), and Angus MacNeil (International Trade Committee), issued the following joint statement:
“The Government’s work on licensing strategic exports is critically important and it is essential that it is given proper attention. We look forward to our Committees working together as the Committees on Arms Export Controls to carry out the vital role of scrutinising this area of government work.”
12 Oct 17. Defence Committee – F-35 Procurement.
Tuesday 17 October 2017 The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
At 14.45pm
• Mr Peter Ruddock, Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin UK
• Mr Jeff Babione, Executive Vice President and General Manager, F-35 Programme
• Mr Steve Over, Director, F-35 International Strategy and Customer Engagement
At 15:15pm
• Harriett Baldwin MP, Minister for Defence Procurement
• Stephen Lovegrove, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence
• Lt General Mark Poffley. Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Capability), Ministry of Defence
• Tony Douglas, Chief Executive Officer for Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of Defence
• Air Commodore Lincoln Taylor, Assistant Chief of Staff, Capability Delivery Combat Air, RAF
This is the second evidence session on the F-35 joint strike fighter and, in particular, the allegations made by The Times during its investigation into the F-35 earlier this year. This session will also cover broader procurement-related issues.
11 Oct 17. Defence Committee. The Use Of Lariam. The Committee today publishes a six-monthly progress report from the Ministry of Defence which gives an update on the Department’s implementation of the Committee’s recommendations.
On 24 May 2016, the previous Defence Committee published its report, An acceptable risk? The use of Lariam for military personnel (Fourth Report, Session 2015–16 (HC 567)). The Government’s response to the report was published on 13 September 2016 (Third Special Report, Session 2016–17 (HC 648)).
House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Q
Asked by Caroline Lucas
(Brighton, Pavilion)
Asked on: 14 September 2017
Department for International Trade
Arms Trade: Trade Fairs
105098
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Government is taking steps to monitor the (a) sale and (b) promotion by companies at the Defence and Security Equipment International of (i) electric stun guns, baton type, (ii) electric stun guns, hand type, (iii) leg irons and (iv) thumb cuffs to countries to which (A) the UK and (B) international obligations prohibit the sale of (1) such and (2) military equipment.
A
Answered by: Mark Garnier
Answered on: 12 October 2017
The Government worked closely with the exhibition organiser, Clarion Defence and Security Ltd, to ensure that all exhibitors at Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) were aware of their export control obligations. This includes which items they were prohibited from supplying or delivering – or agreeing to supply or deliver – or refraining from acts calculated to promote the supply or delivery of such items, including exhibiting and advertising. Government hosted a pre-event briefing w