To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what means he has considered to achieving the abolition of nuclear weapons. (289142)

The Government are committed to a world free of nuclear weapons and are actively working towards achieving this goal. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out his vision in ‘The Road to 2010 - Addressing the Nuclear Question in the Twenty First Century' earlier this month. In this he outlined a three stage process to enable progress towards this goal. This involves:

Transparency and control: reducing expansion of nuclear weapon capabilities and enhancing transparency of existing and future capabilities.

Arms reduction: addressing the challenges and mechanisms through which further multilateral disarmament can occur.

Steps to zero: creating the security conditions and overcoming technical difficulties related to disarmament.

We remain fully committed to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty as the best vehicle for achieving this goal.