National Security and Infrastructure Investment Review: Short-term Reforms

Overview

The Government is taking a staged approach to reforming how it scrutinises national security implications of business transactions – it seeks input on the detail of prompt action in the short term to amend specific components of our current regime.

In the short term, the Government proposes to amend the turnover threshold and share of supply tests within the Enterprise Act 2002. This is to allow the Government to examine and potentially intervene in mergers that currently fall outside the thresholds in two areas: (i) the dual use and military use sector, (ii) parts of the advanced technology sector.

For these areas only, the Government proposes to lower the turnover threshold from £70 million to £1 million and remove the current requirement for the merger to increase the share of supply to or over 25%.

This will be done through secondary legislation. The Government welcomes respondents’ views on the precise forms of words to define the relevant areas and the new thresholds.

This consultation will last four weeks, closing on 14 November 2017.