Recommendation 8

The integration of technology within UK foreign policy should reflect the intrinsic links between the UK’s domestic capabilities and its global influence. The Government’s recent measures to encourage growth and support start-ups within the UK technology sector are welcome, but they have been undermined by the Government’s previous reticence to review and intervene in foreign investments that risk moving strategically important UK businesses overseas. This slow erosion of our domestic capabilities has implications for our ability to project influence internationally. In its response to this report, we ask that the FCDO sets out and then reports back to the Committee on its plans and progress in integrating this work between departments. (Paragraph 44) Measuring FCDO progress in delivering on the Government’s leadership ambitions