Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to assess levels of risk in relation to the inclusion of Investor State Dispute Settlement clauses in trade deals.

Inclusion of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in UK treaties is considered where it is in the UK's interests and where we agree with partners that it can play a useful role in supporting the bilateral investment relationship.

Where the UK negotiates ISDS, it is in line with modern international best practice. This ensures that the mechanism delivers fair outcomes of disputes, has independent arbitrators bound by high ethical standards, and that proceedings are transparent.

The UK has investment agreements containing ISDS provisions with around 90 trading partners. There has never been a successful ISDS claim against the UK.