Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) steps she will take and (b) powers she possesses to protect (i) military bases and (ii) other sensitive locations from the threat posed by the piecemeal purchase of properties in their vicinity by (A) Russian, (B) Chinese and (C) other adversaries.

The first duty of Government is national security. We take the protection of sensitive locations extremely seriously, and we work closely with the police and operational partners to ensure they have the powers they need.

The National Security and Investment Act 2021 provides the Government with powers to identify and, where necessary, intervene in acquisitions of entities or assets (including land) that may pose a threat to the UK’s national security. This can, under some circumstances, include properties near sensitive sites.

In addition, the National Security Act 2023 protects against activity that could be harmful to the UK in and around the most sensitive sites through new and updated criminal offences, police powers to protect these sites, and a power to designate new sites as prohibited places.