Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK’s investment screening regime supports responsible sovereign wealth fund investment.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK has close investment relationships with many of the world’s sovereign wealth funds, supporting mutually beneficial, strategic investment into the UK.
The National Security and Investment Act (NSIA) 2021 gives the UK Government the power to scrutinise and, where necessary, intervene in a transaction that is captured by the act regardless of the acquirer. Every NSIA transaction is taken on its own merit, on a case-by-case basis.
The legislation enables investment into sensitive sectors of our economy while providing robust protections to ensure the UK’s national security is not compromised.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has undertaken analysis of barriers to inward investment from sovereign wealth funds into UK (a) infrastructure and (b) growth sectors.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government maintains strong relationships with leading sovereign wealth funds, engaging in regular dialogue to understand barriers they face when investing in UK infrastructure and growth sectors. The UK's 10 Year Strategy Infrastructure aims to restore confidence and drive growth with £725 billion for infrastructure, transforming project delivery. The Industrial Strategy White Paper identified key investment barriers including planning delays, infrastructure gaps, regulatory burdens, and skills shortages. Government reforms to address these barriers include the Strategic Sites Accelerator, regulatory innovation, planning improvements, and targeted support for industrial clusters and skills development.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of sovereign wealth fund partnerships on UK regional growth priorities.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Increasing economic growth is a strong priority of this Government and ensuring growth is felt in all regions of the UK is a core part of the Growth Mission. The Government recognises the important role that sovereign wealth fund partnerships can play in supporting this mission.This Government has expanded the Office for Investment (OfI) including pursuing deeper investment collaboration with global sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in support of our first Modern Industrial Strategy. The OfI manages multi-billion-pound Sovereign and Strategic Investment Partnerships with SWFs and provides a channel for collaboration. The OfI has already facilitated over £30bn in commitments and approximately £20bn in capital deployed from these partners, contributing to growth and prosperity across the country.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of foreign sovereign wealth funds to the Government’s strategy for attracting long-term investment into the UK economy.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the important role that foreign sovereign wealth funds play in supporting long-term investment in the UK. The UK continues to attract significant investment from sovereign wealth funds, including through strategic partnerships with funds from the Gulf region. This includes a recent £2 billion investment partnership with Bahrain to support sectors such as clean energy, technology, and manufacturing. This investment contributes to economic growth, job creation, and the development of key infrastructure across the country.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen the UK’s institutional relationships with major global sovereign wealth funds.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government expanded the Office for Investment (OfI) including pursuing deeper investment collaboration with global sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in support of our first Modern Industrial Strategy.
The OfI manages multi-billion-pound Sovereign and Strategic Investment Partnerships with SWFs and provides a channel for collaboration. The OfI has already facilitated multi-billion-pounds in commitments and multi-billion-pounds in capital deployed from these partners, contributing to growth and prosperity across the country.
This effort continues; The Government is sending a senior delegation to the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia later this month to strengthen ties further with Saudi and global SWFs.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans his Department has to expand the UK’s investment promotion activities targeted at sovereign wealth funds.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As part of the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, the government announced the creation of the Strategic Investment Opportunities Unit to shape and unlock investment opportunities for strategic investment. This includes originating new investment opportunities that can leverage private capital, including Sovereign Wealth Funds, and deliver government objectives, including to meet the UK’s infrastructure needs, and deliver our Industrial Strategy across the UK. This follows the OfI’s expansion last year, to strengthen our footing globally with the deepest pools of capital.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many transactions referred to his Department under the National Security and Investment Act have involved private equity firms connected to state-backed sovereign wealth funds since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The Government publishes an annual report on the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act 2021, with information about the transactions that it has been notified about and reviewed. The period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 will be covered in the next annual report, which will be published later this year.
NSI Annual Reports do not present the number of acquisitions reviewed involving private equity firms connected to state-backed sovereign wealth funds as the Investment Security Unit does not routinely collect this information.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the value of investments in the UK that are held by the sovereign wealth funds of each state in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 3rd February is attached.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to establishing a sovereign wealth fund, funded by surpluses generated from the commercial value of the use of NHS data sets, calculated at £5 billion per annum.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government recognises the potential value that NHS data sets can generate and is committed to ensuring that the NHS realises a fair share of any value arising from data partnerships. To this end, the NHS's Value Sharing Framework outlines guiding principles to support this objective.
However, the Government has no plans to create a sovereign wealth fund predicated on the sale of access to NHS data. Rather, we continue to carefully explore the most effective ways to derive value from the use of health data for research purposes. This exploration is conducted with a focus on ensuring fair value for the NHS and upholding public trust.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to monitor firms with financial ties to sovereign wealth funds originating from countries that do not have transparent and democratic systems to ensure the (a) effective allocation, (b) efficient implementation and (c) transparent reporting of committed funds.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake
The UK is an open economy and we welcome global investment. UK firms that have financial ties to Sovereign Wealth Funds already have to abide by the UK's regulatory regimes for corporate practice, including the Companies Act, 2006.