Queen's Speech 2017: Critical National Infrastructure

“My Government will bring forward proposals to ensure that critical national infrastructure is protected to safeguard national security.”

• The Government will bring forward proposals to consolidate and strengthen Government’s powers to protect national security. This will ensure that foreign ownership of companies controlling important infrastructure does not undermine British security or essential services.
• Our liberal, open economy depends on us making sure that investment in critical assets is safe. The proposals will ensure that the Government has the information it needs to assess threats to national security and the powers to act on them. It is important that we protect national security, while remaining an open and liberal international trading partner and a global champion of free trade and investment.
• The proposals will enable the UK Government to scrutinise significant foreign investment only for the purposes of protecting national security and will give the UK Government powers to intervene in those transactions which raise national security concerns.

Key facts

• The UK is one of the world’s top destinations for Foreign Direct Investment. It has the third highest Foreign Direct Investment stock (the amount of existing foreign investment) in the world, behind the US and China.
• A 2015 ranking of countries by Foreign Direct Investment as a proportion of GDP showed the UK at 51 % - the highest proportion in the G20.
• The World Trade Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development recognise the fundamental importance of allowing member countries to protect their national security.