To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arms, including chemical weapons, they have (1) licensed for manufacture, and (2) distributed to the Assad regime in Syria, in each of the last ten years and to date in 2013.

The Government do not license the manufacture of military equipment overseas. The manufacture of firearms and other weapons in the UK prohibited under the Firearms Act 1968 is subject to the provisions of that Act. The manufacture of chemical weapons in the UK is illegal under the Chemical Weapons Act 1996.

Any export of firearms and weapons would require an export licence. Exporters must apply to the Export Control Organisation in the Department for Business (BIS) for a licence and each application is rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.

I refer the noble Lord to my answer of 18 June 2013 (Hansard, col. WA 30) about military equipment (including arms) where export licences were granted for the ultimate end-use of the Syrian Government over the past 10 years.