Lord Risby

Travel advice for Ukraine, issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, makes clear that if a British national travels to Ukraine to fight, or to assist others engaged in the war, their activities may amount to offences under UK legislation.

Anyone, regardless of their citizenship, who travels from the UK to take part in conflicts overseas may be investigated by the police on return to determine if they have committed criminal offences, and to ensure that they do not pose a threat to our national security.

The Crown Prosecution Service will consider any information that is referred by the police and any decision to prosecute will be considered on a case-by case basis and in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

The National Security and Investment (NSI) Act 2021 provides powers for the Government to scrutinise and, where necessary, intervene in acquisitions which could present a risk to the UK’s national security. If required, the Government has the ability to impose conditions, block or unwind acquisitions. The Act provides legally defined timelines and processes for decisions from the Government.

The Government welcomes investment as part of our mission to boost growth, but only where it meets our regulatory requirements and does not compromise our national security. We will not hesitate to use our powers to protect national security where we identify concerns.

The latest NSI Act annual report, published in July, can be found on GOV.UK, and shows that the National Security and Investment system is continuing to operate well to protect sensitive sectors, whilst supporting investment.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Darren Tierney | Permanent Secretary

The Lord Risby

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

25 November 2025

Dear Lord Risby,

As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question to asking what proportion of foreign investment in the UK comes from countries situated in (1) the European Union, (2) the Commonwealth and (3) the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership area (HL12070).

Our statistics for inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) positions measure the investment held by UK-resident companies that have foreign immediate parent companies. These are essentially the stock of investment held at a point in time. Table 3.1 of our annual Foreign direct investment involving UK companies (directional): inward statistics shows that the stock of inward direct investment from the European Union was £758,137 million at the end of 2023[1]. This was equivalent to 34.8% of the UK total inward FDI position.

We do not publish a total value for inward FDI with the Commonwealth. However, we have published FDI statistics for all countries. Table 1 below includes the FDI inward FDI position values and percentage of the UK total FDI position accounted for by each Commonwealth country in 2023.

We also do not routinely publish a total value for inward FDI with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) countries. However, we have published FDI statistics for all countries. Table 2 below includes the FDI inward position values and percentage of the UK total accounted for by each member of the CPTPP in 2023.

Yours sincerely,

Darren Tierney

Table 1: Inward foreign direct investment positions with Commonwealth countries at the end of 2023, £ million and as a percentage of the UK total inward FDI position[2],[3],[4],[5],[6]

Table 2: Inward foreign direct investment positions with Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership countries at the end of 2023,
£ million and as a percentage of the UK total 3,5,6,[7]

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessinnovation/datasets/foreigndirectinvestmentinvolvingukcompanies2013inwardtables/current

[2] There were 55 other members of the Commonwealth plus the UK as of 21 November 2025 according to the Commonwealth Secretariat: https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries

[3] “c” denotes value suppressed to protect confidentiality so that individual companies cannot be identified.

[4] “low” denotes a value below £0.5 million.

[5] “z” is used where the country value is suppressed, and the percentage of the UK total will not be available.

[6]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/adhocs/2904foreigndirectinvestmentfditotalsforinwardandoutwardflowspositionsandearnings2021to2023

[7] CPTPP membership was taken from gov.uk, and includes the members that had ratified the UK’s accession and those that had yet to ratify as of 21 November 2025

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Darren Tierney | Permanent Secretary

The Lord Risby

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

25 November 2025

Dear Lord Risby,

As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking which sectors have experienced (1) the highest growth in foreign investment, and (2) the largest decline in foreign investment, over the past three years (HL12068).

Our statistics for inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) positions measure the investment held by UK-resident companies that have foreign immediate parent companies. FDI positions are essentially the stock of investment held at a point in time. Our statistics are defined by the Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC07), and our published results disaggregate UK total FDI into 18 industries.

· Table 1 shows the three industries with the biggest percentage increase and decrease in FDI positions at the end of 2023 compared with the end of 2020.

· Table 2 includes the three industries with the highest and lowest value increases for inward FDI positions at the end of 2023 compared with at the end of 2020.

· Table 3 gives the three industries with the highest annual percentage increase in FDI positions compared with the end of the previous year for each year between 2021 and 2023.

· Table 4 gives the three industries with the lowest annual percentage increase (biggest decrease) in FDI positions for each year between 2021 and 2023.

Yours sincerely,

Darren Tierney

Table 1: Industries with the highest and lowest percentage increase at the end of 2023 compared with the end of 2020 for inward foreign direct investment positions

Source: Foreign direct investment involving UK companies (directional): inward[1],2

Table 2: Industries with the highest and lowest value increase at the end of 2023 compared with the end of 2020 for inward foreign direct investment positions, £ million

Source: Foreign direct investment involving UK companies (directional): inward1,[2]

Table 3: Industries with the highest annual percentage increase for inward foreign direct investment positions, 2021 to 2023

Source: Foreign direct investment involving UK companies (directional): inward1,2

Table 4: Industries with the lowest annual percentage increase for inward foreign direct investment positions, 2021 to 2023

Source: Foreign direct investment involving UK companies (directional): inward1,2

[1] Foreign direct investment statistics disaggregated by main industrial activity does not include banks, bank holding companies, public corporations and property. The FDI of these entities is included in the UK total.

[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessinnovation/datasets/foreigndirectinvestmentinvolvingukcompanies2013inwardtables/current

The Employer Skills Survey provides robust evidence about skills shortages in the labour market and skills gaps in the workforce. In 2024, skill-shortage vacancies were higher among businesses with two to four employees compared to those with 100 or more (42% vs 19%). Regarding internal skill gaps, the proportion of employees judged not fully proficient at their job was lower for businesses with two to four employees compared to those with 100 or more (1.8% vs 4.6%).

We have established Skills England as the single authoritative voice on the country’s current and future skills needs. It will ensure the views of all businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are considered to build a system delivering better skills for better jobs. It is already responding to employer need, including SME employers, by developing the first foundation apprenticeships and first short apprenticeships which will give employers greater flexibility in key sectors.

It is tackling barriers to small business engagement by reducing bureaucracy and duplication. Through collaboration with local partners, it is shaping high quality Local Skills Improvement Plans, which are empowering local areas to better align skills provision with local labour market needs, including helping to meet the ongoing workforce development and training needs of SMEs.

The Government actively supports initiatives by local authorities, schools and universities to foster links with Ukrainian counterparts. This includes work by the British Council to deliver the UK-Ukraine school partnerships programme which connects close to 3,000 pupils and 100 teachers in both countries. The British Council also has a range of programmes to provide funding and resources for UK Arts and Cultural Organisations to collaborate with their Ukrainian counterparts. Over £5.4 million of Government funding has been allocated to support the UK-Ukraine University Twinning Initiative, fostering over 100 university partnerships and mobilising £70 million in sector-led support.

The Government highly values the British Council and its work promoting the English language, UK arts and culture and education. The UK strongly condemns Russia's attacks on Ukrainian cities and the devastating impact this has on its civilian population. We also condemn the damage done to the British Council building in Kyiv, as well as EU delegation offices. We summoned the Russian Ambassador to make clear that such actions will only harden the UK's resolve to support Ukraine in defending itself from Russia's illegal invasion.

The British Council's Grant-in-Aid funding for the next three years (2026/27 and beyond) will be determined in the round, alongside the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's other Official Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA allocations, later in the autumn.

The Holodomor was a disaster of unimaginable scale. The UK's genocide determination policy is that any judgment as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. The UK will commemorate the Holodomor Anniversary this November.

As part of the recent Spending Review and the Government’s Plan for Small and Medium Sized Businesses, this Government has committed to a range of measures to improve access to finance for small and family-run businesses. These include:

• Expanding the ENABLE Guarantee programme from £3 billion to £5 billion, to help lenders unlock more finance options for small businesses.
• Scaling up the Start-up Loans to offer 69,000 new businesses the chance of finance and mentoring.
• Placing the Growth Guarantee Scheme on a long-term footing with funding confirmed until March 2030.

Delivered by the British Business Bank (BBB) through around 50 accredited lenders, the Growth Guarantee Scheme helps SMEs who may not meet traditional creditworthiness criteria, to access debt finance.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice to Ukraine states: 'If you travel to Ukraine to fight, or to assist others engaged in the war, your activities may amount to offences under UK legislation. You could be prosecuted on your return to the UK'.

The Crown Prosecution Service, which acts independently of police and Government, will consider any information that is referred by the police and any decision to prosecute will be considered on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

No government department maintains a list of local council twinning or friendship agreements.