Contributions
1,148 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Part of it is the screening process and, obviously, the security agencies play a major role in that. Under clause 35(2), it is a defence for a…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)It is important to ensure that we are able to enforce the regime. If hostile actors realise that there is a gap in enforcement capability, that could serve to undermine the…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)I want to reassure the hon. Gentleman. He asks whether the Secretary of State can override the CMA’s assessment. To give him some clarity, the power to direct may be used only if…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)I was merely pointing out that there was no merger. The hon. Lady will forgive me: she is correct, but I did say that it is a rare occurrence. That is the point that I was making…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)I am grateful to the hon. Lady, but the difference is that I was referring to mergers. Such mergers would be rare. I do not think that anyone is merging with Huawei, or will in…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)With your permission, Sir Graham, I will speak initially to clause 31 stand part, before turning to amendment 25. As the Bill separates out national security screening from the…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)In response to a point made by the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington about a company being in distress because it has lost a client, irrespective of the national security and…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)I apologise—I should have responded to that, and it was remiss of me not to. We will consider all forms of financial assistance, including equity. To respond to the point the hon.…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)Yes, but the point remains that no final order has been made, and public money will be spent only in very limited circumstances, as I mentioned, in consequence of a final order.…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)For the benefit of the Committee, I will begin with clause 30 stand part, which makes provision for financial assistance. I will then turn to amendment 24, and amendment 28 from…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)I am very happy to write to the hon. Lady on that, but I suppose the money goes back to the Treasury.08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)I thought I had made that clear. The Bill strikes that balance between commercial sensitivity and national security. I return to my reassurance on the importance of considering…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)I suspect that the hon. Member for Ilford South may wonder why, if it makes so little difference, we do not include his amendment and formalise the importance of considering the…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Tenth sitting)With your permission, Sir Graham, I will speak to clause 29 stand part before turning to the amendment. The Committee has heard about the careful balance that the Government are…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Ninth sitting)The reason for that is to enable the Secretary of State to tailor remedies accordingly, as a limited list of remedies could result in risks being ineffectively addressed. I am…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Ninth sitting)I am happy to come back to the hon. Lady on that point. Clause 28 requires that orders made under this Bill be served on anyone required to comply with them and anyone with whom…08 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Seventh sitting)Of course, not all guidance is guidance that the Lords Constitution Committee would have effectively considered to be a substitute for legislation. I will make some more headway,…03 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Seventh sitting)I thank the hon. Lady and the hon. Member for Glenrothes for their questions. It would be nigh on impossible to have an impact assessment as to what happened to a deal that should…03 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Eighth sitting)Again, I am happy to write to the hon. Lady on that. Clearly, only when the Secretary of State is aware that a transaction is clearly in breach of the Bill is it then void. I am…03 Dec 2020HANSARDNational Security and Investment Bill (Eighth sitting)Again, I am happy to write to the hon. Lady on that point. Maybe I am being thick here, but the transaction only becomes void once the information is available to the Secretary of…03 Dec 2020