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 potential merits of expanding the remit of the Competition and Markets Authority to create a research and development public interest test for proposed mergers and takeovers.

Under the Enterprise Act 2002, decisions on public interest interventions are matters for Ministers. Public interest interventions can be made in cases that raise concerns in relation to national security, financial stability and media plurality. The Government has no plans to expand these categories.