Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to (a) prevent, (b) prepare for and (c) respond to disruption of the supply chain of semiconductors.

The National Semiconductor Strategy sets out the government’s approach to growing our domestic semiconductor sector, safeguarding the UK against supply chain disruption and protecting our national security.

The government recognises that the issues facing the global semiconductor sector cannot be solved by any one country alone. We have committed to work closely with our international partners, both multilaterally and bilaterally, to encourage greater transparency in the global semiconductor supply chain, improve supply chain resilience, and establish areas of collaboration for mutual advantage.

In delivering this vision, the government has already announced ambitious international partnership agreements with the US and Japan in 2023. These agreements enhance our collaboration on supply chain resilience, as well as enabling our world class researchers to collaborate on cutting edge semiconductor technologies and supporting our companies to develop new business relationships. We are also working with other governments and industry in the OECD “Informal Exchange Network on semiconductors”, to multilateralise efforts to understand and improve semiconductor supply chain resilience.