Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what tax or investment policy levers are being deployed to stimulate private equity and venture capital investment into dual-use domestic technologies.

The Government is mobilising private investment into dual-use domestic technologies through a combination of public finance and tax interventions. This includes a substantial uplift of £330 million over the spending review period to the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF). NSSIF invests directly and through specialist venture capital funds into strategically important dual-use companies, playing an important role in crowding in private capital. The British Business Bank’s financial capacity has also increased to £25.6 billion, including a £4 billion Industrial Strategy Growth Capital initiative to support businesses in priority sectors, such as defence and digital technologies.

At Budget 2025, the government announced a comprehensive package of entrepreneurship tax measures to provide substantially greater support for scaling businesses across the UK. This included doubling the maximum amount companies can raise through the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust scheme. The increased limits are expected to generate around £100 million a year in additional investment for successful scaling companies, including those developing dual-use technologies such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence technologies.