Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies on Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanisms of the request for the institution of arbitration proceedings between Woodhouse Investment Pte Ltd and West Cumbria Mining (Holdings) Limited v. United Kingdom (ICSID Case No. ARB/25/37); and if he will make it his policy to initiate a review of UK treaties containing Investor-State Dispute Settlements.

Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provides an independent means for companies to resolve disputes with states where investors believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation. The UK will work with partners multilaterally, such as the OECD and UN, to pursue opportunities to improve ISDS practice.

With regard to the case in question, the Government has acted consistently with domestic and international law obligations, but in view of the ongoing proceedings, we have no further comment to make at this stage.