BIA response to the National Security and Investment Bill

The BIA has responded to the Government's consultation on the National Security and Investment (NSI) Bill. In our response, we argue that:

• The definitions on Engineering Biology and Artificial Intelligence will capture all companies within the UK life sciences sector, and the control thresholds will also capture most deals for scrutiny
• As the vast majority of these companies and their technologies have no implications for national security, the NSI regime would place undue burden on hundreds of businesses in our sector and make the UK a less attractive place globally to start and build life sciences companies
• The UK life sciences sector is heavily dependent on foreign investment, so implementation of the regime must not risk this capital source
• It is critical that BEIS is sufficiently staffed and has the level of expertise required to respond to notifications appropriately and quickly
• The Government should provide further detail on technologies that it considers to be or not to be a national security concern, to provide more certainty to investors and companies