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

To ask Her Majesty's Government which transactions will be called in for scrutiny from the 17 sectors listed in the proposed National Security and Investment Bill.

The call-in power may only be used if the Secretary of State reasonably suspects that (i) a trigger event has occurred or is in progress or contemplation; and (ii) that trigger event has given rise to or may give rise to a national security risk. A trigger event refers to an acquisition of control over a qualifying entity or asset. The Bill’s provisions set out a clear process for the Secretary of State to call-in an acquisition. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

The 17 proposed sectors would be within scope of the ‘mandatory regime’ set out in the National Security and Investment Bill. This will require acquirers making investments in those sectors to notify and receive approval from the Secretary of State before completing certain types of acquisition.

The consultation on the sectors proposed to be subject to mandatory notification is currently open until 6 January.