Inquiry into Strategic Export Controls

The four Committees, which sit concurrently as the Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC), invite short written submissions from interested organisations and individuals

The key focus for the inquiry will be the Government’s 2010 Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls and the 2010 (and in part) 2011 Quarterly reports, the Government’s review of arms exports to North Africa and the Middle East, and wider arms control issues.

As well as taking written evidence the Committees will be taking oral evidence. Dates and times to be announced.

The Committees ask for written submissions in accordance with the guidelines stated below by midday Monday 10 October 2011.

Please note

• Each submission should:
• be no more than 3,000 words in length;
• begin with a short summary in bullet point form;
• have numbered paragraphs; and be in Word format or a rich text format with as little use of colour or logos as possible.

A copy of the submission should be sent by e-mail to caeccom@parliament.uk and marked “Submission for CAEC inquiry”.

It would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals submitting written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. Please state clearly to which organisation or person the submission should be attributed. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please supply a postal address so a copy of the Committee’s report can be sent to you upon publication.

View a guide for written submissions to Select Committees.

Please also note that:
Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within a proposed memorandum, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included.

Memoranda submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organization submitting it is specifically authorised.

Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committees. The Committees normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committees will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.

Further information: 

1. The Committees on Arms Export Controls (formerly the Quadripartite Committee) consists of four Committees which meet together to consider the control of strategic exports, including weapons. The Committees involved are: Business and Enterprise, Defence, Foreign Affairs and International Development. The current Chairman is Rt. Hon. Sir John Stanley MP, who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. 
2. The Committees’ main job is to review Government policy on licensing arms exports and licensing decisions. Each year the Government produces an annual report on Strategic Export Controls which the Committees scrutinise.

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