Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to prevent private equity companies (a) taking over UK-based firms and (b) sending profits arising in the UK to overseas tax havens.

The UK is open for business, and we welcome investment in our economy. The details of mergers and takeovers are primarily a commercial matter for the parties concerned, and there is an established process for considering whether there are specific public interest reasons for Ministers to intervene in mergers under the Enterprise Act 2002. These include matters relating to national security, financial stability, media plurality and public health emergencies. The Government has recently strengthened those powers through the National Security and Investment Act 2021.