Clause 1 - Export controls
Export Control Bill
12:00 pm
Mr Nigel Griffiths (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry; Edinburgh South, Labour)
The clause is a vital part of the Bill. Subsection (1) gives the Secretary of State powers to make orders imposing controls on the export of any goods, and to make provisions about matters connected with the imposition of export controls. Without clause 1 it would be impossible to repeal key sections of the Import, Export and Customs Powers (Defence) Act 1939. We all agree that the 1939 Act is seriously deficient in its approach to the control of exports. However, without it, or without clause 1 in its place, it would be impossible to control the export of military goods, which can cause so much damage in the wrong hands.
The clause is also essential in that it provides powers for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to reproduce and update the provisions for the control of export of cultural objects. This control ensures that all such objects manufactured and produced more than 50 years before the date of exportation are controlled to all destinations. The effect of that is to allow for ``national treasures''—objects of major cultural significance to the UK—to be identified, and to provide the opportunity to retain them in the UK. In due course, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will lay before Parliament an order to replace the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1992, which currently controls exports of cultural objects. The new order will not significantly change the controls, but will consolidate and update provision for the control of export of cultural objects under a new Act.
Subsection (2) defines export controls as meaning, with respect to goods,
``the prohibition or regulation of their exportation''—
including objects of cultural interest—
``from the United Kingdom or their shipment as stores.''
The powers set out in subsection (3) allow controls to be imposed on the export of goods wholly or partly on the grounds of the uses or possible uses to which the goods may be put, as is done at present under the Dual-Use Items (Export Control) Regulations 2000, as amended, which apply the EC Council regulations known as the dual-use items regulations. That also extends to information recorded on or derived from the goods to be exported. The provision therefore has the effect of patrolling the export of technology in a physical form, such as a computer disk, or on paper. Under the 1939 Act, controls are imposed on certain technology, including the technology needed to develop, produce and use military equipment, and that power is replaced by the clause. It also reflects controls already directly applicable under the EC dual-use items regulations.
It is our intention to use the clause to consolidate existing secondary legislation on export controls, namely the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994, as amended, which was made under the 1939 Act, and the greater part of the Dual-Use Items (Export Control) Regulations 2000, made under the European Communities Act 1972. That is why subsection (4) makes provision for supplementing controls imposed by Community regulations on the export of goods, for example by providing for the enforcement of such regulations. That should ensure that all future secondary legislation and strategic export controls can be made under powers contained in the Bill rather than under different pieces of legislation. We anticipate that the resulting legislation will be easier to understand for those who must comply with it. This subsection will also enable my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to supplement any directly applicable Community measures that control the export of cultural objects.
Subsection (5) clarifies the nature of the goods subject to export control, including vessels, vehicles and aircraft, whether or not they contain cargo or passengers.
I urge the Committee to agree that the clause stand part.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.