Guidance

Minutes of meeting: 17th March 2014

Updated 13 May 2014

This guidance was withdrawn on 27 July 2023

This content has been withdrawn because it is out of date.

Defence Suppliers Forum Export Sub Group: Record of meeting held on 17th March 2014

1. Those present:

Co-Chairs

• Richard Paniguian – UKTI DSO
• Alan Garwood – BAE Systems

Industry

• Andy Wilkins – Rolls Royce
• Paul Stanley – MBDA
• Paul Everitt – ADS
• Allan Cook – Selex ES
• Stephen Ball – Lockheed Martin UK
• Alistair Gibson – Augusta Westland
• Robin Southwell – EADS UK
• Ken Beedle – Northrop Grumman
• Dean Mason - Thales

Government

• Simon Cholerton – UKTI DSO
• Simon Everest – UKTI DSO
• Steve Thomas – MoD
• John Moffat – MoD
• Huw Walters – BIS
• Edward Bell – BIS
• Rod Latham – Cabinet Office

Secretariat

• David Grove White – UKTI DSO
• David Lines – UKTI DSO

2. Item 1: Introduction

1, Richard Paniguian introduced the meeting. He was pleased that the Through Life Support (TLS) work was taking shape and urged the meeting to focus on substantive issues.

3. Item 2 and 3: TLS Best Practice Industry Workshop Report and TLS next steps

2, Paul Everitt introduced the Paper “Establishing A Best Practice Forum For Through Life Support Of Export Sales”. This was based on the outputs of a workshop that ADS ran on 26th February chaired by Sir Brian Burridge. There were three key elements to consider – establishing the forum, dealing with live issues, and addressing TLS for future procurements. The paper proposed transitioning the TLS forum to the Defence Growth Partnership on a phased basis.

3, The consensus of the meeting was that TLS should find a home in the structures emerging from the Defence Growth Partnership, but until that thinking emerged, by the time of the Farnborough International Airshow, it made sense to carry on under the auspices of ADS.

4, While the relationship between MOD’s work on FMS and TLS was discussed, it was agreed that the current work, which focused on improved business to government provision of equipment and services should not be held back by parallel work on government to government deals.

4. Item 4: Export Control Process

5, Edward Bell (BIS), Head of Export Control Organisation, updated the meeting on current practice and thinking regarding export licensing. Only 1.5% of licensing applications were refused, consistent with the USA, Germany and France. 17,000 applications were handled last year. Charging has been mooted from 2015/16, but there would be public consultation before any changes. There were ambitious plans for reform with a shift to open licensing, e.g. 15-year licenses for TLS but this would be evolutionary.

6, In response Paul Everitt said that ADS was looking at the concerns of smaller firms and was likely to propose some changes. Dean Mason emphasised that it was important for firms to know the reason for any rejection of export licensing applications.

5. Item 5: Foreign Military Sales Study

7, John Moffat (MoD DECS) presented an update on the progress of the FMS study. The MoD view was that overall FMS is neither possible nor desirable for the UK and would not provide a competitive advantage. The study was now focussed on the UK, and the FMS steering committee was considering the concept of a defence exports handbook that would set out what was expected of both government and industry, and the process for successful government and industry working on campaigns.

6. Item 6: Defence Growth Partnership

8, Huw Walters (BIS) outlined the progress on developing the ideas of the Defence Growth Partnership (DGP). Several workshops had been held; the most difficult part was now underway (crystallising the ideas). The other Growth Partnerships had shown the need to focus on a few propositions, and the DGP work was now concentrating on the NDCC concept, the catapult network, new financial models for future defence projects, and international business.

7. Item 7: AOB and DONM

David Lines (Secretariat) would arrange the next meeting.