UK: Government responds to Heseltine review recommendations

The Government has published its response to the recommendations made in Lord Heseltine's report "No Stone Unturned in the Pursuit of Growth": see here (pdf). The majority of Lord Heseltine's recommendations have been accepted. The Government has not accepted the seventy third of Lord Heseltine's recommendations: greater intervention with regard to takeovers and foreign ownership and engagement with potential foreign investors to secure commitments regarding research and skills and, exceptionally, to discourage unwanted investment (underpinned by a greater willingness to use existing powers under the Enterprise Act 2002 to intervene in mergers). The Government's response to this recommendation was brief and did not deal with all elements of the recommendation: "The Government is committed to open markets and is equally committed to engaging with companies and investors to promote investment which benefits the UK economy" (para. 1.48).