Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 53973 on Defending Democracy Taskforce, if she will provide a copy of the Defending Democracy Taskforce's assessment of transnational repression to the Planning Inspector considering the planning application for the proposed site for the new Chinese embassy.

The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this quasi-judicial decision independent from the rest of Government.

The Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary submitted written representations to the planning inspector on 14 January 2025. That letter is clear that the Home Office has considered the breadth of national security issues and where necessary, relevant agencies and departments have been consulted on the national security implications of the application.