Committee publication · Correspondence · 31 October 2025

Letter to the Secretary of State relating to Government financial support to JLR suppliers, 31 October 2025

From: Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls

Inquiry: UK economic security

Summary

The Business and Trade Committee Chair writes to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade requesting clarification on how government financial support via UK Export Finance's Export Development Guarantee scheme is being delivered to Jaguar Land Rover suppliers affected by a cyber attack. The letter challenges the adequacy of government responses on drawdown details, measurement of intervention success, and the rationale for choosing a loan guarantee over direct support to lower-tier suppliers.

Key findings

  • JLR has finalised a commercial loan agreement with HSBC, Mitsubishi UFJ Group, and NatWest, backed by UKEF under the Export Development Guarantee scheme
  • Committee seeks clarification on whether JLR has drawn down the lending facility, the amount accessed, timing, and intended use of funds
  • Government claims the guarantee will protect 34,000 direct jobs and 120,000 wider supply chain jobs, plus billions in export earnings, but Committee finds this response insufficient
  • Committee questions how government will monitor whether adequate support reaches JLR suppliers beyond tier 1 (lower-tier suppliers)
  • Committee challenges government's choice of loan guarantee mechanism versus alternatives such as direct support through the British Business Bank

Tone

Critical

Topics

economic-securityexport-controlsbusiness-supportsupply-chaincorporate-finance

Key actors

Peter Kyle MP, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Business and Trade Committee, Jaguar Land Rover, HSBC, Mitsubishi UFJ Group, NatWest, UK Export Finance

Notable line

I do not consider the response above to be sufficient in helping my Committee to understand how the Government assesses whether its intervention will effectively protect jobs and exports across the …

Key Quotes

My Committee remains acutely concerned about this issue, particularly the impact on firms in the lower tiers of JLR's supply chain.
Chair of the Business and Trade Committee · Opening concern about financial support reaching affected suppliers
I do not consider the response above to be sufficient in helping my Committee to understand how the Government assesses whether its intervention will effectively protect jobs and exports across the wider JLR supply chain.
Chair of the Business and Trade Committee · Criticising adequacy of government's previous explanation of intervention success measurement
The government recognised that the economic cost of allowing JLR's supply chain to collapse would far exceed the risk of this guarantee
Secretary of State for Business and Trade (quoted in Committee letter) · Government's justification for the guarantee in October response
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Source · parliament.uk record ↗

Letter to the Secretary of State relating to Government financial support to JLR suppliers, 31 October 2025 | Beyond The Vote | Beyond The Vote