New Nuclear

The clean power 2030 action plan makes it clear that nuclear will play an important role in our future energy system, providing low-carbon baseload power to the grid. We are delivering the biggest new nuclear building programme in a generation, having committed almost £17 billion at the recent spending review.

I was grateful to the Secretary of State for showing his love for Hemel Hempstead when he came to launch a new scheme on solar panels the other month. On the question of new nuclear and clean jobs, could the Minister outline how communities like mine in Hemel Hempstead will benefit from these new jobs?

Well, my right hon. Friend the Energy Secretary says that we love Hemel Hempstead; I think we agree on that. The nuclear sector is poised for significant growth. That will help deliver on our energy needs in the future, and it is how we will deliver thousands of skilled jobs across the country. The nuclear skills plan is a collaborative effort between Government, industry and academia, setting out the targeted work we need to address the skills gap and bring forward the thousands of apprentices we will need to deliver this work in the future. The regional skills hubs we have established will help to deliver training support locally to ensure that every community in the country benefits.

Rolls-Royce in Derby has recently been announced as the preferred bidder for the delivery of small modular reactors, which means that many of my Erewash constituents will become the beating heart of the workforce that delivers the reactors. Can the Minister explain how Derbyshire’s finest SMRs will help to end our reliance on foreign oil and gas?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; the Government are committed to delivering a new golden age of nuclear, securing an abundance of clean power after 14 years of dither and delay from the Conservatives, and with that will come investment across the country. On 10 June, following a robust two-year process, Great British Energy Nuclear selected Rolls-Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to deliver the UK’s first small modular reactor, subject to final Government approvals and contract signature. The Government are making available £2.5 billion across the spending review to enable this to be one of Europe’s first SMR programmes.

I have always been a supporter of nuclear power. Unfortunately, we do not have access to nuclear power in Northern Ireland, but I know from discussions with the Minister that he is very keen to ensure that modular nuclear power opportunities are available in Northern Ireland. Business that I have spoken to want access to these opportunities, as does the Northern Ireland Assembly. I know that the Minister is always committed to trying to make things better, so has he had an opportunity to talk to the relevant Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly about ensuring that access to modular nuclear power is available to us in Northern Ireland?

I regularly engage with Ministers in the Northern Irish Executive, including in the Department for the Economy, which has responsibility for energy policy in Northern Ireland, and we discuss a range of issues. We are happy to support the Northern Irish Executive in any way we can, either with technology or through rolling out the regulatory framework. We are really excited about the opportunities posed by SMRs and are happy to discuss that in Northern Ireland as well.