Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK’s investment screening regime supports responsible sovereign wealth fund investment.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK has close investment relationships with many of the world’s sovereign wealth funds, supporting mutually beneficial, strategic investment into the UK.
The National Security and Investment Act (NSIA) 2021 gives the UK Government the power to scrutinise and, where necessary, intervene in a transaction that is captured by the act regardless of the acquirer. Every NSIA transaction is taken on its own merit, on a case-by-case basis.
The legislation enables investment into sensitive sectors of our economy while providing robust protections to ensure the UK’s national security is not compromised.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has undertaken analysis of barriers to inward investment from sovereign wealth funds into UK (a) infrastructure and (b) growth sectors.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government maintains strong relationships with leading sovereign wealth funds, engaging in regular dialogue to understand barriers they face when investing in UK infrastructure and growth sectors. The UK's 10 Year Strategy Infrastructure aims to restore confidence and drive growth with £725 billion for infrastructure, transforming project delivery. The Industrial Strategy White Paper identified key investment barriers including planning delays, infrastructure gaps, regulatory burdens, and skills shortages. Government reforms to address these barriers include the Strategic Sites Accelerator, regulatory innovation, planning improvements, and targeted support for industrial clusters and skills development.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of foreign sovereign wealth funds to the Government’s strategy for attracting long-term investment into the UK economy.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the important role that foreign sovereign wealth funds play in supporting long-term investment in the UK. The UK continues to attract significant investment from sovereign wealth funds, including through strategic partnerships with funds from the Gulf region. This includes a recent £2 billion investment partnership with Bahrain to support sectors such as clean energy, technology, and manufacturing. This investment contributes to economic growth, job creation, and the development of key infrastructure across the country.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that inward investment from India contributes to the UK’s net zero targets.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DBT’s recently published Industrial Strategy sets out the Government’s ambition to be a global leader in clean energy by 2035, doubling investment levels across our frontier clean energy industries to over £30billion per year and creating good jobs across the country. To support this, the Office for Investment acts as a dedicated unit and proactive sales force for the UK, working internationally to secure transformational investment in line with HMGs strategic priorities. It has the commercial knowledge and expertise to originate and land deals, including working to land investment from India.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen the UK’s institutional relationships with major global sovereign wealth funds.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government expanded the Office for Investment (OfI) including pursuing deeper investment collaboration with global sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in support of our first Modern Industrial Strategy.
The OfI manages multi-billion-pound Sovereign and Strategic Investment Partnerships with SWFs and provides a channel for collaboration. The OfI has already facilitated multi-billion-pounds in commitments and multi-billion-pounds in capital deployed from these partners, contributing to growth and prosperity across the country.
This effort continues; The Government is sending a senior delegation to the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia later this month to strengthen ties further with Saudi and global SWFs.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what mechanisms his Department plans to use to monitor the implementation of (a) funding and (b) job commitments announced following the Prime Minister’s visit to India in October 2025.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All companies involved in the announcements have a dedicated account manager from the Department for Business and Trade and the Office for Investment. Account managers actively engage with these companies on a regular basis to seek updates on the announced investments, assist with any challenges they face in their investment and discuss further expansion plans.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans his Department has to expand the UK’s investment promotion activities targeted at sovereign wealth funds.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As part of the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, the government announced the creation of the Strategic Investment Opportunities Unit to shape and unlock investment opportunities for strategic investment. This includes originating new investment opportunities that can leverage private capital, including Sovereign Wealth Funds, and deliver government objectives, including to meet the UK’s infrastructure needs, and deliver our Industrial Strategy across the UK. This follows the OfI’s expansion last year, to strengthen our footing globally with the deepest pools of capital.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the number jobs which will be created by US investment pledges made during President Trump's state visit in September 2025.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The commitments made as part of the state visit are expected to create over 15,000 jobs here in the United Kingdom (based on 7,600 jobs announced 17 September 2025 plus 8,250 jobs announced 16 September 2025).
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential barriers to UK investment in Singapore.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK companies and investors experience relatively few barriers to investment in Singapore. At the end of 2023, the stock of Foreign Direct Investment from the UK in Singapore was £15.9 billion, a 23% increase on the end of 2022.
UK investors can benefit from provisions in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which provides guarantees on market access and treatment they will receive when accessing and operating in Singapore. This includes ensuring that they are not discriminated against relative to domestic investors.
The Government continues to invite business views and feedback regarding any potential barriers.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what mechanisms his Department has put in place to track the potential impact of UK-Singapore co-operation on digital trade.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA), and associated Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), support cooperation on key themes of digital trade. We monitor impact via regular dialogue with the Singaporean government, as part of the UK-Singapore free trade agreement subcommittee, and through regular engagement with businesses. Recent business engagement resulted in analysis (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/identifying-new-growth-opportunities-within-the-uk-singapore-dea/identifying-new-uk-growth-opportunities-within-the-uk-singapore-dea-and-future-digital-partnerships) showing that stakeholders believe these MoUs support collaboration and lead to tangible benefits as seen, for example, in pilot projects conducted under the Digital Trade Facilitation MoU. For more on the DEA’s impact on reducing non-tariff barriers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer to UIN 44934: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.