Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made on negotiations on the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty. [158404]

Alistair Burt, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: The Government wants negotiations to start in the Conference on Disarmament (CD) on a fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT). We continue to work with partners in the CD to press Pakistan to end its block on the start of negotiations.

We supported the resolution at last year's UN General Assembly (UNGA) First Committee to create a group of government experts (GGE) to discuss the issues surrounding a FMCT. We hope that this will prove to be a useful mechanism to kick- start negotiations within the CD.

The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs sent a request to member states in January asking for views on a FMCT to inform preparations for the GGE. A copy of the UK's note to the UN has been placed in the Library of the House.

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