Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many companies in the UK telecommunications sector are estimated to be majority owned by Russian or Chinese entities.

The telecommunications sector includes tens of thousands of companies, including telecommunications providers, equipment providers and service providers in the supply chain. The Government does not monitor the nationality of the owners of each of these on a routine basis.

The UK economy thrives, in part, as a result of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the Government therefore strives to be the premier destination for investment in the world. However, an open approach to international investment must include appropriate safeguards to protect our national security and the safety of our citizens. The new National Security & Investment Act introduces a new regime for reviewing and intervening in business transactions, such as takeovers, that might raise national security concerns.

The Government has also recently introduced the Telecommunications (Security) Bill to establish an enhanced legislative framework for telecoms security, which includes new national security powers for the Secretary of State to manage the risks posed by high risk vendors.