Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what powers are available to which of His Majesty’s ministers to restrict supply of components to critical national infrastructure from foreign firms.

The Procurement Act will enable Cabinet Office Ministers to mandate that a supplier is debarred from specific types of contracts where the supplier poses an unacceptable risk to national security. The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 enables Department of Science, Innovation & Technology Ministers to impose, monitor and enforce controls on public communications providers’ use of designated vendors’ goods, services and facilities within UK public telecommunications networks.

The National Cyber Security Centre and the newly formed National Protective Security Authority provide expert advice and guidance to both public and private organisations to identify risks and vulnerabilities to the UK’s national infrastructure.