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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of overseas investors seeking to buy large stakes in UK businesses in the event that the UK enters a recession as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

As we take steps to jumpstart our economy and get on the road to recovery from Covid-19, investment from abroad could provide a much-needed boost to companies right across Britain. But we must not be blind to the risks it could pose to businesses that are right at the heart of our battle against the virus and vital for our subsequent recovery.

That is why on 22 June, this Government laid secondary legislation to amend the Enterprise Act 2002, thereby strengthening the Government’s powers to intervene in certain investments made into the UK. The Government can now intervene on public interest grounds in order to maintain the UK’s capability to combat and mitigate the effects of public health emergencies. Further, subject to Parliament’s approval of a draft statutory instrument, the Government will be shortly be able to intervene in smaller mergers in three of the most national security sensitive sectors: artificial intelligence, cryptographic authentication and advanced materials.