Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of the potential impact on UK security of the inclusion of BYD Company Limited on the recent update to the “Entities Identified as Chinese Military Companies Operating in the United States in Accordance with Section 1260H of the William M. (“Mac”) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283)1".

As part of the National Security Strategy the Government is implementing new measures to make the UK a harder target for actors who seek to exploit our open, democratic society. This includes bolstering our cyber and economic security defences.

For example, the national security powers in the Procurement Act 2023 allow the Government to exclude suppliers from public sector procurement, terminate their public contracts and debar them from future ones. These powers target risk from individual suppliers—not specific countries—and will be used proportionately based on the threat posed.