The House of Commons’ Business and Trade Committee (BTC) is launching a Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls. The MPs’ remit: to assess whether the Government’s economic security arrangements are fit for purpose given geopolitics.
Chair of the BTC, the Birmingham Labour MP Liam Byrne MP said: “We’re living in new times – and it’s now crystal clear that our economic security is critical to our national safety and strength. It is therefore essential that we create a space in Parliament where we ask the difficult questions to ministers about whether they are putting in place the safeguards and making the right trade-offs to ensure our open, free trading and islands remain a bastion of strength in this new era. That is the task we’ve set for our new subcommittee.”
The Committee is inviting evidence on any or all of these questions by April 4:
1. Economic security:
How should the UK Government define “economic security”, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of particular definitions?
Does the UK need a clear strategy for economic security, and what are the risks of not having one?
What are the main economic security threats, and what principles should underly the UK’s response to them?
Specifically, what are the challenges of new technologies, such as AI, for economic security, and how can the UK’s economic security be resilient in the face of technological change?
What can the UK learn from other international actors such as our allies in the United States, Europe and Japan, about how to develop an effective approach to economic security?
How can economic security be best integrated with the Government’s growth mission, industrial strategy and trade strategy. What trade-offs are required between security and efficiency?
2. Opportunities to enhance economic security:
What are the most important gaps in the UK’s economic security regime? How should these be addressed? What is the right level of tolerance for risk?
What are the implications of managing these risks for public spending? Is HMG resourcing the management of these risks appropriately?
How should the Government work with business to safeguard the UK’s economic security? What is the cost to business of this approach?
How should the effectiveness and success of the UK’s economic security regime be measured?
3. Working across Government:
How should work across multiple Government departments and public bodies be co-ordinated to achieve economic security objectives?
What governance structures could be put in place to ensure that economic security informs Government decision-making?
What capabilities will the UK Government need to develop to be able to respond rapidly and effectively to economic security threats?
What governance mechanisms and powers might be necessary to ensure that UK industry can respond effectively to national security threats – for example through defence production?
4. International partnerships:
How should the UK ensure that economic security factors into decisions around international partnerships, including trade agreements and security co-operation?
How can the UK most effectively work with international partners to deter and respond to economic security threats, including economic coercion?
