Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report entitled Paying polluters: the catastrophic consequences of investor-State dispute settlement for climate and environment action and human rights by the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, published on 13 July 2023.

Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is an effective means of resolving investment disputes. The UK has investment agreements containing ISDS with around 90 trading partners. There has not been a successful ISDS claim brought against the UK, nor does ISDS hinder our right to regulate in the public interest, including in areas such as the environment and human rights. This right is recognised in international law.

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