Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what her Department's definition of a critical supply chain is; and which supply chains meet that definition.

The government defines a critical supply chain as one that is vital to the UK’s economy, national security, or essential services. This covers a range of supply chains from critical minerals to essential medicines.

The government does not publish details on which supply chains are critical due to the sensitive nature of this information. My department will shortly be publishing a Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy, which will outline the steps that the UK has taken and will be taking to enhance critical imports and supply chain resilience.